LIFE    OF 


iLINCOLN 


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L.IFE 


OF 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


Being  a  Biography  of  His  Life  from  His  Birth  to  His 

Assassination;    also  a  Record  of  His  Ancestors, 

and    a   Collection    of   Anecdotes 

Attributed  to   Lincoln. 


His  is  the  gentlest  memory  of  our  nation." 


BY 
CLIFTON  M.  NICHOLS, 


ILLUSTRATED. 


1896. 

MAST,  CROWELL  &   KIRKPATRICK, 
NEW  YORK  CITY.       SPRINGFIELD,  OHIO.       CHICAGO,  ILL, 


EXCIf 


Copyright.  1896.  by 

MAST,  CROWELL  &  KIRKPATR1CK. 

SPRINGFIELD,  OHIO. 


LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PIONEER    DAYS    OF   LINCOLN'S    ANCESTORS     IN    KENTUCKY. 

NEAR  the  point  where  the  states  of  Virginia,  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  meet 
there  is  a  wonderful  gateway  in  the  mountains,  which  was  discovered  in 
1748,  by  Thomas  Walker,  and  named  Cumberland  Gap,  in  honor  of  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  prime  minister  to  King  George  of  England.  He  reported  that  it 
opened  into  a  beautiful  region  inhabited  by  Indians  and  wild  animals.  From 
this  gap  north  to  where  the  waterways  which  form  the  Ohio  river  break 
through  the  mountains  the  rugged  and  towering  Alleghenies  present  an  almost 
impassable  wall  between  Virginia  and  the  country  west.  This  barrier  helped 
to  protect  the  inhabitants  against  the  warrior  bands  of  western  Indians,  and 
for  a  time  confined  the  march  of  the  settler  to  the  Shenandoah  valley. 

Daniel  Boone  had  heard  of  the  discovery  of  an  opening  in  the  mountains  not 
far  from  his  home,  an  I  thirsted  for  exploration  of  the  unknown  solitudes  beyond, 
through  which  only  Indians  roamed.  He  was  one  of  the  elder  sons  of  Squire 
B  >one,  who  had  come  from  Pennsylvania  and  settled  in  Wilkes  county,  North 
Carolina,  on  the  Yadkin  river.  From  his  youth  Daniel  had  shown  a  special 
fondness  for  hunting.  Before  he  was  ten  years  old  he  could  shoot  a  deer  while 
it  was  upon  the  run,  and  while  yet  a  lad  made  long  trips  from  home  alone  and 
was  never  lost.  He  was  a  born  woodsman.  He  had  the  cunning  and  eye  of  an 
Indian,  and  could  determine  the  points  of  the  compass  by  the  stars,  like  a 
mariner.  En  1769,  this  intrepid  hunter,  in  company  with  three  companions, 
passed  through  Cumberland  Gap  into  the  wild  territory  west  of  the  mountains, 
on  a  hunting  and  exploring  expedition.  As  they  advanced,  the  country  and 
attractions  improved.  They  traveled  through  vast  reaches  of  somber  forest, 
penetrating  far  into  the  interior.  Boone  and  one  of  his  companions  were 
captured  by  the  Indians,  but  made  their  escape.  When  they  returned  to  their 
<jamp,  the  other  two  men  had  disappeared,  and  were  never  heard  of  a<rain.  Boone 
remained  so  long  away  from  home  that  his  younger  brother,  accompanied  by  a 
friend,  came  in  search  of  him.  Instead  of  returning,  he  sent  his  brother  back 
for  powder  and  bullets. 

M186G24 


6 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


After  being  absent  nearly  a  year,  Boone*  returned  home,  with  a  glowing 
account  of  the  vastness  and  fertility  of  the  new  territory.  He  reported  a 
country  that  abounded  in  possibilities  for  the  settler.  It  was  not  rocky  and 
mountainous  Streams  were  numerous  and  wild  game  was  abundant.  He 
oro-anized  and  led  forward  a  band  of  fifty  hunters  and  trappers  into  the  wilder 
ness,  and  others  soon  followed.  They  built  a  rude  fort,  calling  it  Boonesbor- 
oucrh  They  were  typical  hunters  and  adventurers,  with  rifles  on  their  shoulders 
and  knives  in  their  belts— the  picket-line  going  on  before  the  march  of  civili 
zation.  . 

At  last  the  Revolutionary  war  was  over.     Peace  relieved  the  restraint  on  t 
onward  march  of  the  pioneer,  and  the  hunters1  stories  of  a  boundless  country, 


DANIEL  BOONE  ESCAPES  FEOM   THE   INDIANS. 


renowned  for  soil  and  climate,  across  the  mountains  started  an  emigration  fever. 
The  rush  of  settlers  from  the  Shenandoah  valley  counties  of  Virginia  assumed 
striking  proportions.  Large  groups  of  families  from  a  single  neighborhood 
banded  themselves  together  for  protection  against  the  Indians  while  on  the 


*The  Lincoln  and  Boone  families  were  intimately  associated  for  several  generations.  In  the 
will  of  Mordecal  Lincoln,  recorded  in  the  registry  office  at  Philadelphia,  dated  1735,  George 
Boone,  his  "  loving  friend  and  neighbor,"  was  made  a  trustee  to  assist  in  caring  for  the  property. 
Squire  Boone,  the  father  of  Daniel,  was  one  of  the  appraisers.  One  of  the  numerous  Abraham 
Lincolns  was  married  to  Anna  Boone,  a  first  cousin  of  Daniel  Boone,  July  10,  1760.  It  is 
thought  that  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  president's  grandfather,  first  became  acquainted  with 
Mary  Shipley,  whom  he  afterward  married,  while  visiting  the  Bpones  on  the  Yadkin  river,  in 
North  Carolina.  It  is  known  that  intercourse  between  the  families  was  kept  up  after  they 
moved  from  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


journey.  Their  destination  and  route  had  been  determined  by  Daniel  Boone,  for 
he  and  his  father  were  known  throughout  the  valley.  He  recommended  the 
central  and  northern  part  of  Kentucky  for  a  location,  which  they  reached  by 
following  his  trail  through  the  Cumberland  Gap.  They  went  in  the  usual  back 
woods  manner,  on  horseback,  the  clothing  and  household  goods  being  carried  on 
pack-horses.  Herds  and  flocks  were  driven  along.  Occasionally  a  party  had 
tents;  usually  they  slept  in  the  open  air.  They  carried  a  small  stock  of  pro 
visions,  including  about  thirty  pounds  of  meal  for  each  peison.  There  VACS  no 
meat,  unless  game  was  shot.  The  journey  required  from  two  to  three  weeks. 
The  trail  was  bad,  especially 
where  it  climbed  between 
the  gloomy  walls  of  Cumber 
land  Gap.  Even  when  un 
disturbed  by  prowling  bauds 
of  red  marauders,  the  trip 
was  accompanied  by  much 
fatigu^  and  exposure. 

After  traveling  for  many 
miles  through  dense  forests, 
they  came  to  the  loc  ility 
for  which  they  had  st.irted. 
Here  the  emigrant  train 
began  to  scatter.  The  heads 
of  families  would  select  a 
piece  of  ground  and  begin  a 
pioneer's  life,  with  an  ax  in 
one  hand  and  a  firebrand  in 
the  other — the  evidence  that 
the  advance-guard  of  civili 
zation  had  arrived.  A  spot 
for  a  home  was  selected, 
generally  near  a  spring  or  a 
stream,  and  father  and  sons 
set  to  work  felling  trees  to 
build  a  cabin.  All  settlers' 
cabins  were  alike — an  oblong  room,  built  of  rough  logs,  with  a  door  in  one 
side  and  a  fireplace  in  one  end;  the  roof  consisted  of  rafters  made  from  poles 
covered  with  clapboards;  the  cracks  between  the  logs  were  stopped  up  with 
clay;  usually  there  were  no  windows  or  floors.  When  more  room  was  needed, 
the  space  between  the  rafters  was  made  into  a  loft,  reached  by  climbing  up  pegs 
in  the  wall.  The  furniture  of  the  pioneer's  cabin  was  such  as  he  could  make 
from  split  boards  with  a  few  crude  tools.  They  cooked  by  the  open  fire. 
Bread  was  baked  by  heating  flat  stones;  or  perhaps  they  were  the  possessors  of 
a  Dutch  oven,  an  iron  vessel  about  the  size  of  a  skillet,  only  twice  as  deep. 


BOONE'S  OLD  TRAIL   THKOUGH   THE   MOUNTAINS. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


9 


-with  short  legs  and  a  lid.  To  bake,  they  placed  it  on  the  hearth  and  heaped 
live  coals  over  it.  Buffalo  robes  were  their  main  bedding,  and  most  of  their 
clothing  was  made  from'  the  skins  of  animals.  After  the  cabin  was  built,  all 
hands  set  to  work  clearing  ground  for  a  crop.  Trees  were  chopped  down,  the 
logs  rolled  in  heaps,  the  brush  piled  on  top,  and  burned. 

The  early  settler's  life  was  rough  and  monotonous;  his  surroundings  were 
dreary;  his  cabin  was  destitute  of  the  most  common  comforts;  the  blackened 
stumps  and  dead  trees  stood  thick  in  his  small  field;  neighbors  were  far  apart; 
wild  animals  prowled  around  at  night;  and  the  settlers  lived  in  mortal  dread  of 
the  Indians,  who  were  now  thoroughly  aroused  against  the  white  man  for  taking 
possession  of  their  hunting-grounds,  and  were  ever  skulking  around  for  a  chance 
to  take  a  scalp. 

Such  was  the  common  lot  of  the  early  settlers  in  Kentucky,  among  whom 
were  Abraham  and  Mary  Shipley  Lincoln,  grandparents  of  President  Lincoln. 


V     ./ 
A  SHENANDOAH  VALLEY  SCENE,  IN  VIRGINIA. 


CHAPTER   II. 

LINEAGE. 

IN  1782,  Abraham  Lincoln,  grandfather  of  President  Lincoln,*  with  his  wife 
and  five  children,  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  left  Rockingham  county, 
Virginia,  in  the  Shenandoah  valley,  with  a  party  of  emigrants,  for  Kentucky. 
They  all  rode  horseback,  and  followed  Daniel  Boone's  trail  through  Cumber 
land  Gap.  They  suffered  all  the  hardships  and  mishaps  usual  to  such  a  trip. 
They  slept  on  the  ground,  were  delayed  by  floods  and  harassed  by  Indians, 
Finally  they  reached  Bear  Grass  Fort,  in  Mercer  county,  about  fifty  miles  from 
what  is  now  the  city  of  Louisville.  A  farm  of  five  hundred  acres  on  Licking 
creek  was  selected.  Here  in  the  dense  forest  he  cleared  a  few  acres  of  ground, 
built  a  little  log  cabin,  and  became  a  pioneer  settler  on  the  western  frontier. 
For  generations  past  the  Lincolns  had  been  among  those  who  kept  on  the  crest 
of  the  wave  of  western  settlement.  They  were  typical  pioneers,  and  marched 
along  with  those  who  pushed  the  frontier  westward  in  the  teeth  of  the  forces  of 
the  wilderness.  They  conquered  and  transformed  it.  It  was  fighting  work,  only 
to  be  undertaken  by  these  strong,  brave,  fearless  men.  who  were  familiar  with 
woodcraft  and  knew  how  to  find  food  and  shelter  in  the  forests — men  who  could 
outwit  the  Indian  and  endure  the  extremes  of  fatigue  and  exposure.  They  were 
uneducated;  they  lacked  refinement;  they  were  harsh,  sturdy,  courageous, 
tenacious,  self-reliant,  industrious  men,  faithful  to  their  friends  and  dangerous 
to  their  enemies. 

One  day  in  the  year  1784,  while  Abraham  Lincoln  was  working  in  the  clear 
ing  near  his  cabin  with  his  three  boys — Mordecai,  ten  years  old;  Josiah,  eight, 


•'•President  Lincoln  knew  very  little  about  his  ancestry.  In  a  letter  written  in  1S48,  be  said: 
"  My  grandfather  went  from  Rockingham  county,  Virginia,  to  Kentucky  about  1782,  and  two 
years  afterward  was  killed  by  the  Indians.  We  have  a  vague  tradition  that  my  grandfather 
went  from  Pennsylvania  to  Virginia;  that  he  was  a  Quaker;  further  than  that  I  have  never 
heard  anything."  Eager  genealogists  claim  that  they  have  since  established  his  line  back 
to  the  landing  of  the  Lincolns  from  England,  in  1638.  In  the  records  there  is  a  similarity  of 
Christian  names;  as  Mordecai,  Abraham,  Thomas,  Isaac.  John  and  Jacob,  but  these  same  names 
are  repeatedly  found  in  the  history  of  other  families.  We  are  told  that  President  Lincoln's 
great-great-great-grandfather  was  one  Mordecai  Lincoln,  who  lived  in  Berks  county,  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  died  about  1735;  that  his  great-great-grandfather  was  one  John  Lincoln,  who 
emigrated  to  Rockingham  county,  Virginia;  that  his  great-grandfather,  Abraham  Lincoln,  had 
four  brothers — John,  Thomas,  Isaac  and  Jacob.  Abraham  and  his  brother  Thomas  emigrated 
to  Kentucky;  Isaac  to  Tennessee;  John  and  Jacob  remained  in  Virginia,  The  latter  was  a 
lieutenant  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  took  part  in  the  siege  of  Yorktown.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  it  was  on  account  of  his  intimate  friendship  with  the  famous  Daniel  Boone 
that  President  Lincoln's  grandfather  emigrated  to  Kentucky. 


12 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


and  Thomas,  six— a  bullet  fired  by  an  Indian  pierced  his  heart.  Mordecai,  startled 
by  the  shot,  saw  his  father  fall,  and  running  to  the  cabin,  seized  the  loaded  rifle, 
rushed  to  one  of  the  loopholes  cut  through  the  logs  of  the  cabin,  and  awaited 
the  approach  of  the  savage.  Josiah  fled  for  the  fort  to  give  an  alarm;  the 
Indian  came  up  to  take  little  Thomas  Lincoln  and  carry  him  away.  Suddenly 
the  crack  of  a  rifle  was  heard,  and  the  savage  fell  dead,  shot  by  Mordecai. 
Such  was  the  tragedy  in  the  life  of  Mary  Shipley  Lincoln,  the  grandmother  of 
the  sixteenth  president  of  the  United  States. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  her  husband  the  widow  moved  to  Washington  county, 
near  the  town  of  Springfield,  where  she  lived  until  her  death.  No  schools 
had  yet  been  established,  and  her  children  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood 


'*•*/<. lf- 


MORDECAI  AVENGES  THE  MURDER  OF  HIS  FATHER. 


without  the  opportunity  of  securing  an  education.  Both  of  the  girls  married, 
and  spent  their  lives  in  thit  section  of  the  country.  Under  the  law  of  entail  in 
Kentucky  the  eldest  son  inherited  the  estate  of  his  father,  and  so  Mordecai  came 
into  poss3ssion  of  his  father1^  property.  Mordecai  and  Josiah  Lincoln  remained 
in  Washington  county,  and  became  the  heads  of  good-sized  families.  They 
were  intelligent,  well-to-do  men,  and  owned  slaves.  Mordecai  took  part  in  the 
Indian  wars;  he  hated  Indians  bitterly  ever  after  the  murder  of  his  father,  and 
to  the  day  of  his  death  never  lost  an  opportunity  of  shooting  them  down. 

A.  most  remarkable  and  almost  inexplicable  fact  is  that  to  Thomas  Lincoln 
was  "reserved  the  honor  of  an  illustrious  paternity.11  Thomas  was  about  five  feet 
ten  inches  in  height,  weighed  about  two  hundred  pounds,  had  dark  brown  eyes- 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


13 


dark  skin  and  black  hair.  He  was  always  poor  and  indolent.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  strength,  but  slow  of  movement.  When  he  really  tried  he  could  accom 
plish  a  great  deal  at  whatever  he  turned  his  hand,  but  he  usually  lacked  the 
energy  and  perseverance  necessary  to  make  a  success  of  his  undertaking.  He 
was  a  man  of  good  intentions  in  all  things  and  honest  in  all  his  dealings.  He 
was  a  peaceful,  law-abiding  citizen,  except  when  aroused  to  anger,  and  then  he 
became  a  dangerous  antagonist.  He  was  of  a  nomadic  disposition.  One  year 
he  wandered  off  to  his  uncle's,  on  the  confines  of  Tennessee.  At  another  time 
he  turned  up  in  Breckinridge  county.  Finally,  in  1806,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
eight,  he  drifted  to  Hardin  county,  and  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade  .in  the 
shop  of  Joseph  Hanks.  While  there 
he  married  his  employer's  niece, 
Nancy  Hanks.  He  then  endeavored 
to  set  up  for  himself,  but  failed. 
He  essayed  farming  at  various  times 
in  Kentucky.  Indiana  and  Illinois, 
but  ill  luck  followed  him.  When 
he  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade 
at  all,  he  preferred  to  make  common 
benches,  cupboards  and  bureaus. 
He  was  never  a  steady  hand,  but 
confined  himself  to  doing  odd  jobs. 
He  could  neither  read  nor  write  until 
his  wife  taught  him  the  letters  of 
the  alphabet,  so  he  could  spell  his 
way  slowly  through  the  Bible,  and 
knew  how  to  write  his  name,  which 
was  the  end  of  his  attainments  in  this 
line.  He  was  good-natured  and  fond 
of  telling  jokes,  about  the  only  trait 
he  transmitted  to  his  illustrious  son. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat — a 
Jackson  Democrat.  In  religion  he 

was  nothing  at  times  and  a  member  of  various  denominations  by  turns.     It  is 
believed,  however,  that  he  died  in  the  faith  of  a  Campbellite. 

Very  little  is  known  of  Nancy  Hanks,  the  mother  of  President  Lincoln.  It 
seems  that  she  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  1783;  that  her  mother^s  given  name  was 
Lucy,  and  after  she  married  Henry  Sparrow  the  child  did  not  remain  long  under 
her  stepfather's  roof,  but  went  to  live  with  her  Aunt  Betsy,  who  had  married 
Thomas  Sparrow.  They  had  no  children  of  their  own.  Besides  Nancy,  they 
took  to  raise  her  cousin,  Dennis  Hanks.  Little  Nancy  became  so  identified  with 
Thomas  and  Betsy  Sparrow  that  a  great  many  supposed  that  she  was  their  child, 
and  she  was  called  Nancy  Sparrow  by  her  playmates.  They  were  the  only 
parents  she  ever  knew,  and  she  must  have  called  them  by  names  appropriate  to 


A   CUPBOARD   MADE   BY   THOMAS  LINCOLN. 


14 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


that  relationship.  They  took  her  with  them  to  Mercer  county,  Kentucky.  They 
reared  her  to  womanhood,  followed  her  to  Indiana,  died  of  the  same  disease  at 
about  the  same  time,  and  were  buried  close  be>ide  her. 

Nancy  Hanks  was  a  beautiful  girl,  of  pleasing  manners  and  keen  intellect. 
She  was  slender  and  symmetrical,  above  the  ordinary  height  in  stature,  and  had 
the  appearance  of  one  inclined  to  consumption.  She  was  a  brunette,  with  dark 
hair,  soft  hazel  eyes,  and  had  a  high,  intellectual-looking  forehead.  While  in 


ROCK   SPRING. 

one  of  the  picturesque  and  romantic  scenes  of  the  Lincoln  homestead  on  Nolin's  creek,  in 
Kentucky,  is  Hock  Spring.  In  summer  especially  this  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots 
imaginable,  and  to  itfc  pleasing  scenery  is  added  the  practical  advantage  of  a  never-failing 
supply  of  the  finest  quality  of  limestone  water,  for  which  central  Kentucky  is  justly  famous. 

Virginia  she  attended  school  and  received  other  advantages  which  placed  her  on  a 
higher  intellectual  plane  than  most  of  those  around  her.  She  always  wore  a 
marked  melancholy  expression,  which  fixed  itself  upon  the  memory  of  every 
one  who  ever  saw  or  knew  her,  and  though  her  life  was  seemingly  beclouded  by 
a  spirit  of  sadness,  she  was  in  disposition  amiable  and  generally  cheerful;  these 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


15 


traits  she  transmitted  to  her  son.  Her  ancestors  were  probably  English,  who 
emigrated  to  America  in  the  early  days.  Under  favorable  environments  she 
likely  would  have  become  an  accomplished  and  talented  woman. 

Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks,  parents  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  were  married 
on  June  12,  1806,  near  Beachland,  Washington  county,  Kentucky,  by  the  Rev. 
Jesse  Head,  a  Methodist  minister.  Thomas  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age  and 
his  wife  twenty-three.  They  began  married  life  in  wretched  poverty,  in  a  dreary 
cabin  about  fourteen  feet  square,  in  Elizabethtown.  Here,  in  the  spring  of  1807, 
their  daughter,  Sarah,  was  born.  Thomas  Lincoln  soon  wearied  of  Elizabethtown 
and  carpenter-work.  He  thought  he  could  do  better  as  a  farmer,  and  removed  to 
a  piece  of  land  in  La  Rue  county,  three  miles  from  Hodgensville,  on  the  south  fork 
of  Nolin's  creek.  The  land  was  poor  and  the  landscape  desolate.  They  took  up 
their  abode  in  a  miserable  cabin,  which  stood  on  a  little  knoll.  Near  by,  a  spring 
of  excellent  water  gushed  from  beneath  the  roek,  and  was  called  uRock  Spring." 


CHAPTER   III. 

BIRTH    AND    BOYHOOD   IN    KENTUCKY. 

ON  February  12,  1809,  a  babe  was  born  in  a  log  cabin,  located  on  Nolin's 
creek,  in  La  Rue  county,  Kentucky,  which  was  then  a  new  and  almost  wild 
country.  No  doctors  attended  his  birth.  Only  a  few  unskilled  women  were 
there  to  offer  their  willing  services  in  caring  for  the  mother.  There  was  no  fine 
linen  ready  in  which  to  wrap  the  baby  boy.  His  father  was  away  from  home. 
There  was  no  food  in  the  house,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  kindness  of  neigh 
bors  he  would  have  perished.  But  he  was  a  child  of  destiny,  and  grew  and 
waxed  strong.  They  gave  him  his  grandfather's  name,  Abraham — Abraham 
Lincoln!  What  a  strange  mingling  of  mirth  and  tears,  of  tragic  and  grotesque, 
of  ;ill  that  is  gentle  and  just,  humorous  and  honest,  merciful,  wise,  laughable, 
lovable  and  divine,  and  all  consecrated  to  the  use  of  the  man;  while  through  all 
and  over  all  an  overwhelming  sense  of  obligation,  of  chivalric  loyalty  to  truth, 
and  upon  all  the  shadow  of  a  tragic  end. 

The  cabin  in  which  Abraham  Lincoln  was  born  on  that  cold  winter's  night 
was  a  forlorn  hovel  with  one  door  and  no  window.  There  were  great  chinks  in 
the  wall,  through  which  the  sun,  rain  and  wind  came  driving  in  at  pleasure.  At 
night  the  stars  were  plainly  visible,  shining  through  cracks  in  the  roof.  The 
room  was  cold  and  bare,  as  it  had  scarcely  anything  in  it  that  could  be  called 
furniture,  and  no  floor  except  the  beaten  ground.  In  one  end  was  a  wide  fireplace. 
It  did  not  look  as  though  a  tender,  new-born  babe  could  live,  much  less  grow 
and  thrive,  in  such  an  uncomfortable  place  as  this  poor  hut. 

Here  the  mother  gathered  her  infant  son  in  her  arms;  here  she  went  about 
her  daily  tasks,  much  of  which  was  a  routine  of  drudgery,  getting  something  for 
her  family  to  eat  and  wear.  All  of  the  cooking  was  done  on  the  hearth,  before 
the  open  fire.  The  food  was  simple,  usually  corn-bread  and  bacon  or  game.  She 
had  not  sufficient  strength,  energy  or  health  to  make  the  most  of  life  in  a  poor 
man's  cabin.  She  craved  better  things — books,  friends  and  the  comforts  of  life. 
Frequently  her  husband  would  be  gone  for  several  days  or  weeks  on  hunting  or 
boating  trips,  or  at  work  at  his  trade,  leaving  her  and  the  children  alone.  At 
nighfc  they  could  hear  the  snarl  of  the  wolf,  the  cry  of  the  panther  and  the 
hoot  of  the  owl.  From  the  door  no  human  habitation  could  be  se^n,  no  familiar 
neighbors  passed  and  repassed,  for  there  were  no  roads.  The  children  were  a 
great  comfort  to  her  in  this  lonely  place,  their  prattle  was  the  sweetest  of  music 


18 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN 


to  her.  At  dusk  she  took  them  on  her  lap  and  told  them  stories  and  sang  them 
to  sleep,  when  she  tucked  them  away  in  their  bed  of  leaves,  covered  with 
buffalo-robes.  As  they  grew  older,  she  taught  them  their  A-B-C's  and  how  to 
read  and  spell  and  write.  Sarah  and  little  Abe  were  always  glad  to  see  summer 
time  come,  for  then  they  could  play  out  of  doors,  gather  wild  flowers,  and  carry 
little  gourds  of  water  for  their  mother  from  Rock  Spring. 

No  school  of  any  kind  had  ever  been  opened  near  Thomas  Lincoln's  home 
until  Zachariah  Riney,  a  wandering  Roman  Catholic  priest,  happened  along,  in 
the  year  1813.  He  engaged  an  empty  cabin,  and  sent  word  to  the  settlers  that 
he  would  teach  spelling  arid  reading  to  all  who  would  pay  him.  Although  the 
Lincolns  were  very  poor,  it  is  a  credit  to  the  parents  that  Sarah  and  little  Abe 
were  found  in  the  school.  Logs  split  in  two  and  turned  flat  side  upward 
answered  for  benches,  and  the  pupils  included  children  and  adults.  The  teacher 


THE  ALLEGED   BIRTHPLACE   OF   LINCOLN. 

The  Lincoln  family  occupied  the  cabin  on  Nolin's  creek  for  a  period  of  four  years  after 
Abraham's  birth,  when  they  removed  to  the  eastern  -end  of  the  county.  The  farm  on  which 
Abraham  was  born  passed  into  the  hands  of  other  and  more  energetic  owners.  The  humble 
cabin  was  torn  down,  and  the  materials  used  in  its  construction  were  utilized  otherwise,  and 
ultimately  destroyed  in  the  manner  common  to  the  section  and  period.  A  more  pretentious 
residence  was  erected  on  the  site,  but  it,  too,  was  built  of  logs.  At  a  later  period  the  farm  again 
changed  proprietors,  and  this  second  house  was  also  torn  downc  The  new  owner  built  his 
residence  at  a  different  point.  The  logs  used  in  the  vacated  dwelling  were  sold  to  a  neighbor, 
and  a  portion  of  them  remain  at  the  present  time  in  a  dwelling  occupied  by  Mr.  John  A.  Daven 
port,  and  located  about  a  mile  from  the  old  Lincoln  homestead.  For  years  after  this  the  site  of 
Abraham  Lincoln's  first  home  was  cultivated  in  common  with  the  surrounding  land,  and  was 
marked  only  by  a  small  mound,  and  a  pear-tree,  rugged,  gnarled  and  sturdy,  growing  thereon. 
In  1895,  the  farm  was  purchased  by  New  York  speculators,  who  at  once  began  its  improvement 
with  a  view  to  its  sale  to  the  United  States  government  for  use  as  a  national  park.  Many 
visitors  suppose  the  cabin  illustrated  above  to  be  the  original  Lincoln  cabin,  and  certain  recent 
Lincoln  biographers  give  credence  to  the  idea  that  it  is.  This,  however,  is  a  mistake.  The 
present  Cabin  is  only  a  clever  imitation  of  the  original,  built  on  the  same  plan,  and  with  logs 
obtained  from  a  very  old,  decaying  house  on  an  adjoining  farm. 

knew  nothing  outside  of  spelling  and  reading,  and  not  much  of  these.  The 
only  book  used  was  a  speller,  of  which  there  were  only  a  few  copies.  It 
was  a  great  surprise  to  the  teacher  when  he  found  that  little  Abe,  only  five  years 
old,  was  far  in  advance  of  any  of  the  children  of  his  age,  and  even  of  many 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


of  the  older  pupils.  Abe  (that  is  what  all  his  playmates  called  him)  was  tall  of 
his  age,  and  slender,  had  dark  hair,  gray  eyes,  and  was  of  a  quiet  disposition. 
His  sister,  who  was  two  years  older,  was  large  of  her  age,  but  not  tall.  She  was 
a  pretty  child,  with  dark  hair  and  gray  eyes,  and  was  very  mod-  st  in  the  presence 


A    VIEW   OF   THE  OLD   THOMAS   LINCOLN   FARM    IN    KENTUCKY,    WHERE   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN- 
WAS  BORN.    (From  a  recent  photograph.) 

of  strangers.      With  tattered  speller,  and   lunch  of    corn-bread,  she  and  Abe 
tramped  through  the  woods  to  school  the  few  weeks  it  kept  open. 

The  church  preceded  the  school-house  in  pioneer  settlements.     In  Hodgen 
ville   which  consisted  of  a  primitive  mill  and  a  few  scattered  cabins,  the  public- 


20 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


spirited  had  erected  a  log  building,  but  had  failed  to  provide  glass  for  the  windows. 
Occasionally  a  preacher  came  to  the  rude  meeting-house,  when  the  people 
flocked  in  from  miles  around,  coming  on  foot  or  horseback.  They  did  not  all 
come  fur  the  purpose  of  hearing  the  religious  services  or  to  exhibit  their  clothing, 
but  to  see  one  another  and  exchange  news,  and  hear  what  was  going  on  in  the 
world  outside  Hodgensville.  Mrs.  Lincoln  was  a  devout  woman,  attending  church 
services  whenever  she  could.  David  Elkin,  a  traveling  Baptist  minister,  was  a 
special  friend  to  the  Lincolns,  and  took  quite  a  fancy  to  Thomas  Lincoln's  boy. 
Thomas  Lincoln  had  made  no  headway  in  paying  for  his  farm;  in  fact,  no 
terms  were  easy  enough  for  him.  He  gave  it  up,  and  on  September  12.  1813, 


A   SCENE   ON   THE  ROLLING  FORK. 

bargained  with  a  Mr.  Slater  for  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  acres.  The  terms 
were  that  he  was  to  pay  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds,  all  deferred  payments, 
which  were  never  met.  This  land  was  situated  about  six  miles  from  Hodgens 
ville,  on  Knob  creek,  a  very  clear  stream  which  empties  into  Rolling  Fork  two 
miles  above  the  present  site  of  New  Haven.  The  farm  was  somewhat  hilly, 
well  timbered,  and  had  some  rich  little  valleys,  of  which  Thomas  Lincoln  suc 
ceeded  in  getting  six  acres  under  cultivation.  The  cabin  which  he  built  here 
was  even  worse  than  the  one  they  had  left,  if  that  were  possible.  While  here, 
Abraham  entered  his  second  school,  which  lasted  about  three  months.  Hie 
teacher  was  Caleb  Hazel.  He  could  teach  reading  and  writing  in  an  indifferent 
way,  and  a  little  arithmetic.  The  school  was  located  four  miles  from  the  Lincoln 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


21 


farm,  and  the  Lincoln  children  had  to  tramp  the  entire  distance.  It  was  about 
this  time  that  Dennis  Hanks  initiated  Abraham  into  the  mysteries  of  fishing. 
One  day  he  and  a  companion  named  Gollaher  were  out  on  a  little  excursion,  and 
while  Abe  was  attempting  to  "coon"  across  a  stream  on  a  sycamore  log,  he  lost 
his  hold  and  fell  into  the  water,  and  was  saved  only  by  the  utmost  exertions  of 
Gollaher.  Hunting  ground-hogs  was  another  favorite  sport  of  the  boys. 

As  time  wore  on,  Thomas  Lincoln  became  dissatisfied,  and  being  a  wanderer 
by  natural  inclination,  he  longed  for  a  change.  He  was  gaining  neither  riches  nor 
credit,  and  attributed  his  luck  to  the  country  where  he  lived.  He  felt  ill  at 
ease  and  cramped  in  the  presence  of  his  more  prosperous  neighbors.  He  listened 
to  the  stories  of  the  fertility  and  cheapness  of  the  land  in  the  new7  state  of 
Indiana,  across  the  Ohio  river,  and  believed  them.  So  he  resolved  to  pull  up  stakes 
and  locate  once  more  in  the  wilderness.  Among  the  many  things  which  he 
had  attempted  was  flutboating,  and  had  been  hired  to  make  a  few  trips  to 
New  Orleans.  When  he  concluded  to  make  the  removal  to  Indiana,  he  built 
a  rude  boat  and  loaded  most  of  his  scanty  store  of  property  and  tools,  and  sold 
the  rest  for  four  hundred  gallons  of  whisky.  In  those  days  whisky  was  a 
common  article  of  commerce,  and  passed  for  so  much  coin  in  buying  and  selling. 
He  started  down  Rolling  Fork,  then  down  Salt  river,  and  reached  the  Ohio  river 
without  any  mishaps,  but  here  his  boat  capsized.  He  fished  up  whatever  tools 
and  property  he  could,  and  most  of  the  whisky,  and  started  on  his  way,  finally 
landing  at  Thompson's  Ferry,  two  and  a  half  miles  west  of  Troy,  in  Perry  county, 
Indiana.  Here  he  sold  the  boat,  and  put  the  property  in  the  hands  of  a  Mr. 
Posey,  a  settler  living  near.  He  then  started  out  to  find  a  location,  and  decided 
upon  a  spot  sixteen  miles  distant,  afterward  returning  to  his  family  in  Kentucky, 
walking  the  entire  distance. 


i 


CHAPTER   IV. 

BOYHOOD    IN    INDIANA. 

THOMAS  LINCOLN  and  family  moved  from  Kentucky  to  Indiana  in  the  fall 
of  1816.  Before  they  left,  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  two  children  visited  the 
grave  of  her  third  child,  a  boy,  who  died  in  infancy.  The  trip  to  Indiana  was 
a  hard  journey,  as  there  were  no  roads  or  bridges.  They  made  the  trip  on 
horseback,  borrowing  two  horses  for  the  occasion.  Besides  their  scanty  bed  and 
clothing,  they  carried  with  them  a  few  cooking-utensils,  including  a  Dutch 
oven  and  lid,  a  skillet  and  lid,  and  some  tinware.  They  camped  out  on  the 
way,  and  depended  mostly  upon  game  for  subsistence. 

After  reaching  Mr.  Posey's  house,  Thomas  Lincoln  hired  a  wagon,  into  which 
he  loaded  his  tools,  the  whisky,  his  few  goods,  his  wife  and  children,  and 
plunged  into  the  forest.  There  were  no  roads  or  foot-paths,  and  many  times  a 
passageway  had  to  be  cut  before  they  could  proceed  farther.  At  length  they 
arrived  at  the  spot  which  he  had  selected  between  Prairie  and  Pigeon  creeks,  and 
which  has  since  become  famous  as  the  Lincoln  farm.  Lincoln  was  a  "squatter," 
and  did  not  enter  his  claim  until  October  15,  1817. 

This  part  of  the  country  was  covered  with  thick  forests  of  deciduous  trees — 
poplar,  oak,  walnut,  elm,  beech  and  sugar.  The  land  was  fertile,  the  grazing 
excellent,  and  there  was  an  immense  amount  of  mast  on  the  ground  for  hogs. 
Lincoln  selected  a  beautiful  site  on  an  elevation  for  his  home.  The  selection 
was  wise,  except  that  no  running  water  was  near,  and  they  had  to  use  that  which 
collected  in  holes  when  it  rained,  until  a  well  was  dug.  Here  Thomas  Lincoln 
built  a  temporary  shelter  called  "a  half-face  camp,'1  which  is  a  shed  built  of  poles 
and  open  on  one  side.  It  was  as  cold  as  outdoors,  and  not  fit  for  a  stable. 
They  lived  here  all  winter  and  until  the  next  fall  before  he  had  the  cabin  com 
pleted.  This  cabin  had  neither  floor  nor  window,  and  the  doorway  had  to  be 
closed  by  hanging  skins  of  animals  over  it.  It  seems  that  Lincoln  was  too  lazy 
to  use  his  skill  as  a  carpenter  to  improve  his  home,  for  the  furniture  was  cruder 
than  the  house.  The  bed  consisted  of  two  poles,  with  one  end  of  each  stuck  in 
between  the  logs  in  one  corner  of  the  cabin,  while  the  corner  of  the  bed  where 
the  poles  crossed  rested  in  a  crotch  of  a  forked  stick  sunk  into  the  earthen  floor. 
On  these  were  thrown  some  rough  boards,  and  on  the  boards  a  lot  of  leaves 
covered  with  skins  and  any  old  clothing  they  had.  The  table  was  a  similar 


2ft 


24  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

affair,  and  three-legged  stools  answered  for  chairs.  They  had  a  few  pewter  and 
tin  dishes,  and  if  th^y  had  knives  or  forks,  it  is  unknown.  Abraham  slept  on  a 
bed  of  leaves  in  the  loft,  reached  by  climbing  on  pegs  in  the  wall.  In  the  fall  of 
1817  Thomas  and  Betsy  Sparrow  followed  their  adopted  daughter  to  Indiana,  and 
took  up  their  abode  in  the  old  " half-face  camp,'1  which  was  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  from  the  cabin.  They  brought  with  them  their  adopted  son,  Dennis 
Hanks,  a  cousin  of  Mrs.  Lincoln's.  For  two  years  they  continued  to  live  along 
in  the  old  way.  Lincoln  did  not  like  farming,  and  did  not  succeed  in  getting 
very  much  of  his  land  under  cultivation.  He  raised  a  small  crop  of  corn  and 
vegetables,  and  this,  with  the  game,  which  was  abundant,  supplied  the  table. 


LINCOLN'S   INDIANA    HOME. 


Milk-sickness  broke  out  in  the  Pigeon  creek  region  in  the  summer  of  1818. 
It  was  a  terrible  disease,  common  to  new  countries.  It  is  supposed  that  it  was 
contracted  by  .cattle  and  sheep  feeding  on  a  poisonous  weed,  which  grew  in  wild 
pasture-lands.  It  swept  off  the  cattle  which  gave  the  milk,  and  the  people  who 
drank  it.  Among  those  who  were  attacked  by  it  were  Thomas  and  Betsy  Spar 
row  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Lincoln.  The  Sparrows  were  then  removed  from  the 
"half-faced11  camp  to  the  Lincoln  cabin,  which  was  very  little  better.  Many  of 
the  neighbors  had  already  died  of  the  disease,  and  Thomas  Lincoln  had  made  all 
of  their  coffins  out  of  green  lumber  cut  with  a  whip-saw.  Toward  fall  the 
Sparrows  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  grew  worse.  The  nearest  doctor  was  at  Yellow 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


25 


Banks,  Kentucky,  thirty  miles  away,  but  they  could  not  send  for  him,  as  they 
had  no  money  with  w7hich  to  pay  him.  In  the  first  part  of  October  the  Spar 
rows  died.  A  day  or  so  after,  on  October  5,  1815,  Nancy  Hanks  Lincoln  rested 
from  her  troubles,  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  years.  Her  husband  sawed  the  lum 
ber  and  made  her  rough  coffin  with  his  own  hands. 

Arnold  describes  the  funeral  thus: 

"The  country  burying-ground  where  she  was  laid,  half  a  mile  southeast  from 
their  log  cabin  home,  had  been  selected  perhaps  by  herself,  and  was  situated  on 
the  top  of  a  forest-covered  hill.  There,  beneath  the  dark  shade  of  the  woods, 
and  under  a  majestic  sycamore,  they  dug  the  grave  of  the  mother  of  Abraham 


.     THE   LINCOLN   FARM   IN    INDIANA.     (From  a  recent  photograph.) 

Lincoln.  The  funeral  ceremonies  were  very  plain  and  simple,  but  solemn  withal, 
for  nowhere  does  death  seem  so  deeply  impressive  as  in  such  a  solitude.  At  the 
time  no  clergyman  could  be  found  in  or  near  the  settlement  to  perform  the 
usual  religious  rites.  David  Elkin,  a  traveling  preacher  whom  the  family  had 
known  in  Kentucky,  c  ime,  but  not  until  some  months  afterward,  traveling 
many  miles  on  horseback  through  the  wild  forest  to  reach  their  residence:  and 
then  the  family,  with  a  few  friends  and  neighbors,  gathered  in  the  open  air 
under  the  great  sycamore  beneath  which  they  had  laid  the  mother's  remains. 
A  funeral  sermon  was  preached,  hymns  were  sung,  and  such  rude  but  sin 
cere  and  impressive  services  were  held  as  are  usual  among  the  pioneers  of  the 
frontier/1 


26 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Mrs.  Lincoln's  grave  never  had  a  stone,  not  even  a  head-board,  to  mark  it, 
and  the  exact  spot  is  unknown.  Two  or  three  children  belonging  to  a  neigh 
bor,  Levy  Hall  and  wife,  and  the  Sparrows,  were  buried  near  the  grave.  For 
years  the  graves  remained  uncared  for.  They  were  crumbled  in  and  sunken 
and  covered  with  bushes  and  wild  vines.  In  1879,  Mr.  P.  E.  Studebaker, 
of  South  Bend,  Indiana,  erected  a  stone  over  the  graves,  and  a  few  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  Rockport,  Indiana,  built  an  iron,  railing  around  it.  The 


THE  GRAVE  OF  NANCY  HANKS  LINCOLN. 

inscription  on  the  stone  runs:  "Nuncy  Hanks  Lincoln,  Mother  of  President 
Lincoln,  Died  Oct.  5,  A.  D.  1818,  Aged  35  years.  Erected  by  a  friend  of  her 
martyred  son,  1879." 

The  next  year  was  a  sorry  and  dreary  one  for  the  children  in  their  cold  and 
cheerless  cabin.  Sarah,  now  twelve  years  old,  was  housekeeper,  and  cooked  what 
little  they  had  to  eat.  Abe  and  Dennis  were  good-natured  boys,  and  did  what 
they  could  to  pass  away  the  long  evenings  and  stormy  days.  In  good  weather 
the  boys  were  busy  getting  np  wood,  doing  the  chores  and  hunting.  Taking 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


27 


game  with  trap  and  rifle  was  a  necessary  occupation,  as  they  needed  the  me^t  for 
food;  and  about  their  only  source  of  income  during  the  winter  was  from  the  ^ale 
of  furs. 

Thirteen  months  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Thomas  Lincoln  returned 
to  Elizabethtown  in  search  of  another.  He  immediately  called  on  Sarah  Bush 
Johnston,  whom  he  had  courted  before  he  married  Nancy  Hanks.  Sarch  mar 
ried  Daniel  Johnston  soon  after  Lincoln  married  Nancy.  Johnston  dit-d  in 
1814,  leaving  three  children — John,  Sarah  and  Matilda — dejendent  on  his  wife. 
Sarah  Bush  was  called  a  proud  body  when  a  girl,  as  she  was  very  neat  and  tidy 
in  her  personal  appearance, 
and  was  particular  in  the 
selection  of  her  company. 
She  "  wanted  to  be  somebody 
and  have  something.11  She 
was  a  woman  of  great  energy, 
good  sense,  industrious  and 
saving,  and  knew  how  to 
manage  children.  Mrs.  John 
ston  agreed  to  marry  Thomas  /  \ 
Lincoln  as  soon  as  she  could 
pay  her  debts.  They  were 
paid  that  day,  and  the  couple 
were  married  the  next  morn 
ing,  leaving  for  Indiana  soon 
after.  Mrs.  Johnston  was 
wellsupplied  with  furniture, 
clothing  and  household  goods, 
and  it  required  her  brother's 
big  wagon  and  a  four-horse 
team  to  transport  them  to 
Indiana.  Among  the  goods 
was  a  bureau  th-it  cost  forty 
dollars.  Thomas  Lincoln 
thought  it  extravagance,  and 
wanted  her  to  turn  it  into 
cash,  which  she  flatly  refused  to  do.  When  Mrs.  J<>hnston,  now  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
arrived  at  her  new  home,  she  was  astonished  beyond  measure  at  the  contrast 
between  the  glowing  representations  which  her  husband  had  made  to  her  before 
leaving  Kentucky  and  the  real  poverty  and  meanness  of  the  place.  She  hj  d 
evidently  been  given  to  understand  that  the  bridegroom  had  abandoned  his  Ken 
tucky  ways,  and  was  now  a  prosperous  Indiana  farmer.  However,  she  made  the 
best  of  a  bad  bargain,  and  immediately  set  to  work  making  the  place  more  com 
fortable  and  respectable.  She  had  her  husband  put  down  a  floor,  hang  windows 
and  doors,  and  use  his  skill  with  tools  to  make  improvements  in  the  cabin.  It 


SARAH    BUSH    LINCOLN. 


28 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


was  a  strange  experience  for  Sarah  and  Abe  to  sleep  in  warm  beds,  and  to  eat 
with  knives  arid  forks  and  have  something  warm  and  clean  to  wear.  It  was 
only  a  short  time  after  the  new  mother  came  to  the  home  until  everything  had 
changed.  She  had  taken  a  fancy  to  Abe  as  a  child  in  Kentucky,  and  now  she 
cared  for  him  with  affection,  and  from  that  time  on  he  appeared  to  live  a  new 
life.  Sarah  and  Abe  and  the  Johnston  children  soon  became  fast  friends,  and 
lived  in  the  utmost  harmony.  Dennis  Hanks  also  became  a  member  of  the 
household,  and  was  Abe's  companion  from  the  time  he  was  eight  until  twenty- 
two  years  of  age.  It  is  through  him 
that  students  know  much  of  this 
period  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  life. 

When  Thomas  Lincoln  first  came 
to  Indiana  there  were  only  a  few 
settlers,  in  all  seven  or  eight  in  the 
Pigeon  creek  country,  who  had  come 
before  him,  and  one  of  these  was  a 
Mr.  Carter,  whose  acquaintance  he 
had  made  in  Kentucky,  and  who  had 
induced  Lincoln  to  locate  there. 
The  nearest  town  was  Troy,  on  the 
Ohio  river,  about  a  mile  from  the 
mouth  of  Anderson  creek.  Har 
rison's  victory  over  the  Indians  had 
won  peace  for  Indiana,  and  heavy 
immigration  set  in.  When  Indiana 
was  admitted  as  a  state,  in  1816, 
she  had  a  population  of  65,000. 
The  Lincoln  farm  was  in  Perry 
county,  with  the  county-seat  at 
Troy,  but  afterward  that  part  of  the 
county  was  set  off  and  became  a  part 
of  Spencer  county,  with  the  county- 
seat  at  Rock  port,  twenty  miles  south. 

In  1821,  a  state  road  was  made,  connecting  Evansville  and  Corydon,  which  was 
then  the  state  capital.  In  1823,  another  road  was  built,  connectiug  Eockport  and 
Blooinington.  These  roads  crossed  just  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Thomas 
Lincoln's  farm.  The  land  near  the  cross-roads  had  been  secured  from  the  gov 
ernment  by  James  Gentry,  and  the  cross-roads  made  it  a  valuable  trade  center. 
In  1823,  Gideon  Romine  started  a  store,  and  succeeded  in  getting  a  post-office  in 
1824.  He  soon  sold  his  store  to  Gentry,  after  whom  the  plnce  was  named.  Dennis 
Hanks  helped  to  hew  the  logs  for  the  first  store-room  in  Gentryville. 


JUDGE  JOHN   PITCHER,  WHO   LOANED    LINCOLN 
LAW-BOOKS    WHILE  A   BOY    IN    INDIANA. 


I 


CHAPTER  V. 

SCHOOL-DAYS   IN    INDIANA. 

A  BRAHAM  LINCOLN  began  his  school  life  in  Indiana  in  1819,  soon  after 
/~\  his  stepmother  came  to  the  home.  He  was  naturally  quick  in  the  acquisition 
of  any  sort  of  knowledge,  and  it  is  likely  that  by  this  time  he  could  read  and 
write  a  little.  Mrs.  Lincoln  perceived  that  he  was  an  unusually  bright  boy,  and 
encouraged  him  all  she  could  in  his  studies,  and  it  was  due  to  her  efforts  that  he 
was  able  to  attend  school  at  all.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  work  most  of  the 
time  on  the  farm  or  in  the  shop,  or  hire  out  as  a  common  laborer,  in  order  to 
help  support  the  family.  If  all  the  days  which  Abraham  Lincoln  attended 
school  were  added  together,  they  would  not  make  a  single  year's  time,  and  he 
never  studied  grammar  or  geography  or  any  of  the  higher  branches  in  school. 
"Readin1,  writin'  and  cipherin'"  was  the  limit.  His  first  teacher  in  Indiana 
was  Hazel  Dorsey,  who  opened  a  school  in  a  log  school-house  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  Lincoln  cabin.  The  building  had  holes  for  windows,  which  were 
covered  over  with  greased  paper  to  admit  light.  The  roof  was  just  high  enough 
for  a  man  to  stand  erect.  It  did  not  take  long  to  demonstrate  that  Abe  was 
superior  to  any  scholar  in  his  cla^s.  His  next  teacher  was  Andrew  Crawford, 
who  taught  in  the  winter  of  1822-3.  in  the  same  little  school-house.  Abe  was 
an  excellent  speller,  and  it  is  said  that  he  liked  to  show  off  his  knowledge, 
especially  if  he  could  help  out  his  less  fortunate  schoolmates.  One  day  the 
teacher  gave  out  the  word  "defied."  A  large  class  was  on  the  floor,  but  it  seemed 
that  no  one  would  be  able  to  spell  it.  The  teacher  declared  he  would  keep  the 
whole  class  in  all  day  and  night  if  " defied"  was  not  spelled  correctly.  When 
the  word  came  around  to  Katy  Roby,  she  was  standing  where  she  could  see 
Lincoln.  She  started,  "d-e-f,"  and  while  trying  to  decide  whether  to  spell  the 
word  with  an  ui"  or  a  uy,"  she  noticed  that  Abe  had  his  finger  on  his  eye  and  a 
smile  on  his  face,  and  instantly  took  the  hint.  She  spelled  the  word  correctly, 
and  the  school  was  dismissed. 

Among  other  things  which  Crawford  tried  to  teach  was  wavwers.  One  of 
the  pupils  would  retire,  and  then  come  in  as  a  stranger,  and  another  pupil  would 
have  to  introduce  him  to  all  the  members  of  the  school  in  what  was  considered 
"good  manners."  As  Abe  wore  a  linsey-woolsey  shirt,  buckskin  breeches  which 
were  too  short  and  very  tight,  and  low  shoes,  and  was  tall  and  awkward,  be  no 

29 


30 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


doubt  created  considerable  merriment  when  his  turn  came.  He  was  gro \viLg  at 
a  fearful  rate;  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  two  years  later  attained  his  full 
height  of  six  feet  four  inches.  Even  at  this  early  date  he  had  learned  to  write 
compositions,  and  even  some  doggerel  rhyme,  which  he  recited,  to  the  great 
amusement  of  his  playmates.  One  of  his  first  compositions  was  against  cruelty 
to  animals.  He  was  very  much  annoyed  an  1  p  .lined  at  the  conduct  of  the  boys, 
who  were  in  the  habit  of  catching  terrapins  and  putting  coals  of  fire  on  their 
backs,  which  thoroughly  disgusted  Abraham.  "  He  would  chide  us,"  said  Nat 
Grigsby,  "tell  us  it  was  wrong,  and  would  write  against  it.'1 

The  third  and  last  school  which  he  attended  was  taught  by  Mr.  Swaney,  and 
was  four  and  a  half  miles  away.     The  distance  was  so  great  that  he  did  not 


LINCOLN  AND  HIS   SISTER   STUDYING   BY   FIRELIGHT. 

attend  long.  By  this  time  he  knew  more  than  any  of  his  teachers,  but  he  con 
tinued  his  studies  wherever  he  happened  to  be,  at  home  at  nights,  or  in  the  fields 
during  the  day.  He  was  not  particularly  energetic  when  it  came  to  hard  manual 
labor.  When  alone  about  his  work  his  mind  was  on  his  lessons,  and  he  would 
frequently  stop  and  be  lost  in  deep  thought.  Tf  he  had  company,  he  was  con 
stantly  laughing  and  talking,  cracking  jokes  and  telling  stories.  One  time  Abe 
said  that  his  father  taught  him  to  work,  but  not  to  love  it.  He-preferred  to  lie 
under  a  shade-tree,  or  up  in  the  loft  of  the  cabin,  and  read  or  cipher  or  scribble. 
At  night  he  would  sit  before  the  fire  and  write  on  the  shovel  with  charcoal.  In 
the  daytime  he  would  write  on  boards,  and  then  shave  the^iarks  off  and  begin 
again. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


31 


His  stepmother  said:  "Abe  read  diligently;  he  read  every  book  he  could  lay 
his  hands  on,  and  when  he  came  across  a  passage  that  struck  him,  he  would  write 
it  down  on  boards,  if  he  had  no  paper,  and  keep  it  there  until  he  did  get  paper; 
then  he  would  rewrite,  look  at  it,  repeat  it.  He  had  a  copy-book,  a  kind  of 
scrap-book,  in  which  he  put  down  all  things,  and  thus  preserved  them.1' 

When  Abe  was  fourteen  years  uf  age,  John  Hanks  came  from  Kentucky  and 
lived  with  the  Lincolns.  He  describes  Abe's  habits  thus:  "When  Lincoln 
and  I  returned  to  the  house  from  work,  he  would  go  to  the  cupboard,  snatch  a 
piece  of  corn-bread,  take  down  a  book,  sit  down  on  a  chair,  cock  his  legs  up  as 


SWIMMING-HOLE   IN    PIGEON    CREEK,  WHERE    LINCOLN   USED    TO    BATHE. 

high  as  his  head,  and  read.  He  and  I  worked  barefooted,  grubbed  it,  plowed, 
mowed,  cradled  together;  plowed  corn,  gathered  it,  and  shucked  corn.  Abe 
read  constantly  when  he  had  an  opportunity." 

Among  the  books  upon  which  Abe  ulaid  his  hands"  were  "./Esop's  Fables,'1 
"Robinson  Crusoe,"  Bunyan's  "Pilgrim's  Progress,"  "History  of  the  United 
States,"  and  Weems'  "Life  of  Washington."  All  these  he  read  many  times,  and 
transferred  extracts  f rom  them  to  the  boards  and  the  scrap-book.  He  copied  and 
worked  out  for  himself  nearly  the  whole  of  an  arithmetic,  some  of  J.he  sheets  of 
which  are  still  in  a  fn,:r  state  of  preservntion. 


Of) 

06 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


About  this  time  he  discovered  that  a  Mr.  Turnham,  deputy  constable  in  the 
neighborhood,  had  a  copy  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  Indiana,  and  he  would  go 
to  his  house  and  read  and  re-read  the  book.  He  borrowed  Weems'  "Life  of 
Washington'1  from  a  neighbor,  Joseph  Crawford  (not  the  school-teacher).  It  is 
said  that  Lincoln  fairly  devoured  this  book,  and  when  not  reading  it,  placed  it 
between  the  logs  of  the  wall.  One  night,  while  asleep,  a  rain  came  up  and  soaked 
the  book  thoroughly  with  mad  and  wat^r.  Abe  told  Mr.  Crawford  how  it  hap 
pened,  and,  as  he  had  no  money,  offered  to  pay  for  it  by  work.  Crawford  agreed 

that  if  he  would  pull  fodder 
three  days  he  could  have  the 
book. 

About  the  house  Abe  was 
kind  and  generous.  Both 
his  father  and  Dennis  Hanks 
were  good  story-tellers,  and, 
no  doubt,  with  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  the  three  girls,  they  had 
many  pleasant  times  togeth 
er  in  their  back-woods  fash 
ion.  Abe  had  a  very  reten 
tive  memory.  When  he  was 
in  the  field  he  would  mount 
a  stump  and  begin  to  lec 
ture,  sometimes  in  humorous 
and  sometimes  in  serious 
style.  On  Monday  mornings 
he  would  frequently  repeat 
almost  the  entire  sermon 
which  he  had  heard  the  day 
before,  and  frequently  his 
father  would  break  up  his 
" meetings"  and  hustle  him 
off  in  no  gentle  manner. 
"OLD  BLUE-NOSE^  CRAWFORD.  He  was  put  to  work  in 

the  carpenter-shop,  but  did 

not  learn  the  trade.  His  father  hired  him  out  to  the  neighbors,  and  Abe  was 
always  willing  to  make  the  transfer.  His  wit.  humor  and  honesty  were  well 
known,  which  made  him  welcome  wherever  he  went.  He  was  especially  popular 
with  the  women.  It  is  said  he  was  always  ready  to  make  a  fire,  carry  water  or 
nurse  the  baby. 

In  1825,  he  worked  for  James  Taylor,  who  lived  at  the  mouth  of  Anderson 
creek.  He  was  here  nine  months,  and  his  principal  business  was  managing  a 
ferry-boat  plying  the  Ohio  river  and  Anderson  creek.  He  was  compelled  to  act 
as  a  sort  of  uman-of-all-work"  about  the  house  and  barn.  He  slept  up-stairs  with 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


33 


Taylor's  son,  who  said  that  Abe  read  until  nearly  midnight,  and  got  up  before 
daylight.  Green  was  a  hard  master,  and  once  struck  the  poor  boy  with  an  ear  of 
hard  corn  and  cut  a  gash  over  his  eye.  Abe's  strength  caused  him  to  be  in 
demand  at  hog-killing  time,  at  which  he  earned  thirty-one  cents  a  day;  and  that 
was  considered  good  pay. 

He  had  never  forgiven  Joseph  Crawford  for  making  him  pull  fodder  so  long 
to  piy  for  the  "Life  of  Washington,"  and  never  lost  an  opportunity  to  crack  a 
joke  at  his  expense.  Abe  called  him  "  Blue-nose  Crawford,"  a  name  which  stuck 
to  him  throughout  his  life.  He  worked  for  Crawford  off  and  on.  The  first  job 


CRAWFORD'S   HOUSE. 

• 

was  to  daub  up  the  cracks  between  the  logs  of  his  house.  While  here,  he  always 
kept  up  his  reading,  and  found  several  books  at  the  Crawfords'  which  he  btudied 
thoroughly.  Abe's  sister  was  a  hired  girl  in  this  same  house.  Even  at  this  early 
date  Lincoln  was  a  good  wrestler,  and  he  was  never  better  pleased  than  when  he 
could  inveigle  Mr.  Crawford  into  a  tussle,  and  generally  took  the  opportunity  to 
throw  Crawford  to  the  ground  several  times.  He  was  stronger  and  taller  than 
any  man  in  the  neighborhood.  He  could  strike  with  a  maul  a  heavier  blo\v,  and 
could  sink  an  ax  deeper  into  wood  than  any  man  in  that  part  of  the  country, 
and  at  splitting  rails  he  had  no  superior. 


34 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


There  was  an  abundance  of  game  in  the  Pigeon  creek  region,  but  Abe  was 
not  a  hunter.  He  was  a  fair  shot  with  a  rifle,  and  killed  some  game,  but  he 
preferred  to  stay  behind  and  read  and  talk,  provided  he  had  something  to  read. 
He  did  take  part  in  the  games  and  gatherings,  and  was  found  at  the  log-rollings 
an!  corn-huskings.  It:  there  was  any  literature  to  be  written,  especially  for  such 
occasions,  Abe  was  called  upon  to  do  it.  „. 

By  this  time  Gentryville  was  quite  a  "center  of  business."  It  had  a  black 
smith-shop,  a  store  and  a  post-office.  It  was  a  great  loitering-placefor  the  young 
men,  and  Abe  was  immensely  popular.  His  sallies  of  mirth  and  humor  never 
failed  to  attract  a  crowd  around  him.  He  worked  about  the  store  some,  but 
never  reached  the  dignity  of  selling  goods  across  the  counter.  They  would  sit 
up  late  ab  nights  and  real  the  papers  und  talk  politics  arid  tell  stories.  The 


PIGEON   CREEK  GRAVEYARD,  WHERE  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN'S  SIFTER   IS   BUKIED. 

b-lacksmith-shop  was  another  favorite  loafing-place  of  Lincoln's,  as  Baldwin  was 
himself  a  famous  story-teller.  One  cold  night  while  going  home  in  company 
with  some  young  men,  they  found  a  man  who  had  fallen  by  the  wayside,  dead 
drunk.  The  boys  refused  to  help  him,  so  Lincoln  took  him  up  in  his  arms  and 
carried  him  to  a  cabin,  built  a  fire,  and  saved  the  man's  life. 

Charles -and  Reuben  Grigsby  were  married  about  this  time,  and  returned 
home  with  their  brides,  when  the  infare  feast  and  dance  were  held.  Abe  was 
not  invited,  and  was  very  mad  in  consequence,  his  indignation  finding  vent  in  a 
highly  descriptive  piece  of  composition,  entitled  "The  Chronicles  of  Reuben.'1 
They  were  sharp,  witty  and  stinging.  He  dropped  them  on  the  road  where  the 
Grigsbys  would  find  them.  The  Grigsbys  were  infuriated  and  wild  with  rage,  and 
threatened  to  pound  his  face  to  a  jelly  and  crack  a  couple  of  his  ribs,  but 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


35 


evidently  Abe's  tremendously  long  and  muscular  arms  prevented  them  from  try 
ing  it.  What  treasures  of  humor  he  must  have  wasted  on  that  audience  of 
"bumpkins!"  In  those  days  they  had  exhibitions  or  speaking-meetings  in  the 
school-house  or  church,  and  discussed  such  subjects  as  uThe  Bee  and  the  Ant," 
u  Water  and  Fire,11  "  Which  had  the  Most  Right  to  Complain,  the  Negro  or  the 
Indian?"  "  Which  was  the  Strongest,  Wind  or  Water?11  Abe's  father  was  a  Dem 
ocrat,  and  at  that  time  he  agreed  with  him.  He  would  frequently  make  political 
and  other  speeches  to  the  boys  and  explain  tangled  questions.  Booneville  was 
the  county-seat  of  Warrick  county,  situated  about  fifteen  miles  from  Gentry  ville. 


PIGEON  CREEK   CHURCH. 


Thither  Abe  walked  to  be  present  at  the  sittings  of  the  court,  and  listened 
attentively  to  the  trials  and  the  speeches  of  the  lawyers.  One  of -the  trials  was 
that  of  a  murderer.  He  was  defended  by  Mr.  John  Breckinridge,  and  at  the  con 
clusion  of  his  speech  Abe  was  so  enthusiastic  that  he  ventured  to  compliment 
him.  Breckinridge  looked  at  the  shabby  boy,  thanked  him,  and  passed  on 
his  way.  Many  years  afterward,  in  1802,  Breckinridge  called  on  the  president, 
and  he  was  told,  "It  was  the  best  speech  that  I,  up  to  that  time,  had  ever  1  eard. 
If  I  could,  as  I  then  thought,  make  as  good  a  speech  as  that,  my  soul  would  be 
satisfied.11  At  numerous  times  in  Lincoln^  youth,  when  his  prospects  of  ever 


ABRAHAM    LLNCOLN. 


becoming  president  were  apparently  the  slimmest  of  any  boy  living,  he  had  hopesT 
and  would  assert  that  some  day  he  would  be  a  great  man.  Mrs.  Crawford 
reproved  him  one  day  for  bothering  the  girls  in  her  kitchen,  and  asked  him  what 
he  supposed  would  ever  become  of  him,  and  he  answered  that  he  was  going  to  be 
president  of  the  United  States.  Abe  usually  did  the  milling  for  the  family,  and 
at  first  had  to  go  a  long  distance,  but  later  on  a  horse-mill  was  started  near 
Gentry ville.  Abe  hitched  his  "old  mare"  to  the  mill  and  started  her,  with 
impatience.  She  did  not  move  very  lively,  and  he  "touched  her  up"  and  started 
to  say,  "  Get  up,  you  old  hussy ! "  The  words  "  get  up  "  fell  from  his  lips,  and  then 
he  became  unconscious,  caused  by  a  kick  from  the  mare.  After  several  hours  he 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN   WITNESSED   SLAVERY    FOR   THE   FIRST   TIME. 


came  to,  and  the  first  thing  he  said  was,  "You  old  hussy!"  In  after  years  he 
explained  it  thus:  "Probably  the  muscles  of  my  tongue  had  been  set  to  speak  the 
words  when  the  animal's  heels  knocked  me  down,  and  my  mind,  like  a  gun, 
stopped  half-cocked,  and  only  went  off  when  consciousness  returned." 

About  a  mile  and  half  from  the  Lincoln  cabin  there  lived  a  Mr.  William 
Wood,  who  took  two  papers,  one  political  and  one  temperance.  Abe  borrowed 
them,  and  read  them  faithfully  over  and  over  again,  and  became  inspired  with 
an  ardent  desire  to  write  something  on  the  subjects  himself.  He  accordingly 
composed  an  article  on  temperance,  which  Mr.  Wood  thought  was  excellent,  and 
was  forwarded  by  a  Baptist  preacher  to  an  editor  in  Ohio,  by  whom  it  was  pub- 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


37 


lished,  to  the  infinite  gratification  of  Mr.  Wood  and  his  protege.  Abe  then  tried  his 
hand  on  national  politics,  which  article  was  also  published.  In  it  he  said:  uThe 
American  government  is  the  best  form  of  government  for  an  intelligent  people. 
It  ought  to  be  kept  sound,  and  preserved  forever,  that  general  education  should 
be  fostered  and  carried  all  over  the  country;  that  the  Constitution  should  be 
saved,  the  Union  perpetuated  and  the  laws  revered,  respected  and  enforced."  A 
lawyer  named  Pritchard  chanced  to  pass  that  way,  and,  being  favored  with  a 
perusal  of  Abe's  "  piece,"  declared  that  it  was  excellent,  and  had  it  printed  in 
some  obscure  paper,  causing  the  author  an  extraordinary  access  of  pride. 

In  1828,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  Abe  began  to  grow   restless.     He  wanted 
to  leave  home,  and  consulted  Mr.  Wood  about  it,  who  advised  him  to  remain  with 


LINCOLN   RECEIVES   TWO   SILVER   HALF   DOLLARS. 

his  father  until  he  should  become  of  age.  In  the  same  spring,  Abe  went  to  work 
fora  Mr.  Gentry,  and  his  son  Allen  and  Lincoln  took  a  flatboat-load  of  bacon 
and  other  produce  to  New  Orleans.  Abe  was  paid  eight  dollars  per  month,  and 
ate  and  slept  on  board,  and  Gentry  paid  his  passage  back  on  the  deck  of  a  steam 
boat.  While  the  boat  was  loading  at  Gentry's  Landing,  near  Rockport,  on  the 
Ohio,  Miss  Roby,  the  girl  whom  he  had  helped  to  spell  ll defied,"  watched  them. 
She  afterward  became  Allen  Gentry's  wife.  She  says:  "One  evening  Abe  and  I 
were  sitting  on  the  boat,  and  I  said  to  him  that  the  sun  was  going  down.  'That 
is  not  so;  it  don't  really  go  down,  it  seems  so.  The  earth  turns  from  west  to 
east,  and  the  revolution  of  the  earth  carries  us  under,  as  it  were.  u  We  do  the 
sinking,  as  you  call  it.'  I  replied,  'Abe,  what  a  fool  you  are!'  I  know  now  that 
I  was  the  fool,  not  Lincoln."  At  Madame  Bushane's  plantation,  six  miles  below 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  39 

Baton  Rouge,  while  the  boat  was  tied  up  to  the  shore  in  the  dead  hours  of  the 
night,  and  Abe  and  Allen  were  fast  asleep  in  the  bed,  they  were  startled  by  foot 
steps  on  board.  They  knew  instantly  that  it  was  a  gang  of  negroes  come  to  rob 
and  perhaps  murder  them.  Allen,  thinking  to  frighten  the  negroes,  called  out, 
"  Bring  the  guns,  Lincoln,  and  shoot  them! "  Abe  came  without  the  guns,  but  he 
fell  among  the  negroes  with  a  huge  bludgeon  and  belabored  them  most  cruelly, 
following  them  onto  the  bank.  They  rushed  back  to  their  boat  and  hastily  put 
out  into  the  stream.  It  is  said  that  Lincoln  received  a  scar  in  this  tussle  which  he 
carried  with  him  to  his  grave.  It  was  on  this  trip  that  he  saw  the  workings  of 
slavery  for  the  first  time.  The  sight  of  New  Orleans  was  like  a  wonderful 
panorama  to  his  eyes,  for  never  before  had  he  seen  wealth,  beauty,  fashion  and 
culture.  He  returned  home  with  new  and  larger  ideas  and  stronger  opinions  of 
right  and  injustice. 

One  day,  while  standing  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  two  passengers  came  up 
and  asked  to  be  taken  to  the  steamer  coining  up  the  river.  Abe  agreed  to  take 
them  out,  and  did  so,  and  when  he  had  them  and  their  luggage  on  the  boat,  they 
threw  him  a  silver  half  dollar  each.  One  d;iy;  while  the  Cabinet  was  assembled 
in  the  White  House.  Mr.  Lincoln  related  the  incident  to  Seward,  his  secretary  of 
state,  and  said:  "  1  could  scarcely  believe  my  eyes.  You  may  think  it  was  a 
very  little  thing,  but  it  was  the  most  important  instant  of  my  life.  I  could 
scarcely  believe  that  I,  a  poor  boy,  had  earned  a  dollar  in  less  than  a  day.  The 
world  seemed  wider  and  fairer  to  me,  and  I  was  a  more  hopeful  and  confident 
being  from  that  time/' 

Reverting  to  his  school-days,  it  is  related  that  the  I  oy  Lincoln  would  take  up 
composition-writing  on  his  own  account,  without  being  obliged  to  do  so  by  the 
teacher.  He  first  wrote  short  sentences  against  "  Cruelty  to  Animals,"  which  he 
presently  enlarged  into  a  regular  composition.  He  was  very  much  annoyed  and 
pained  by  the  conduct  of  the  boys,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  catching  terrapins 
and  putting  coals  of  fire  on  their  backs.  One  of  the  most  touching  relics  in  the 
large  Lincoln  collection  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  is  an  old  copy-book,  in  which,  at 
the  age  of  fourteen,  Lincoln  had  taught  himself  some  proficiency  in  writing  and 
ciphering.  Scratched  in  his  boyish  hand  on  the  first  page  may  be  seen  these  lines: 

'  Tis  Abraham  Lincoln  holds  the  pen, 
He  will  be  good,  but  God  knows  when  ! 

At  seventeen  Lincoln  wrote  a  clear,  neat,  legible  hand,  was  quick  at  figures, 
and  able  to  solve  any  ordinary  arithmetical  problem.  One  of  his  biographers 
describes  Lincoln's  manuscript,  *' Exercises  in  Arithmetic,"  dated  1826,  and  says  it 
would  not  be  easy  to  find  scholars  of  even  our  high  schools  in  these  days,  or  any 
school  of  boys  of  the  same  a^e.  who  could  turn  out  a  better  written  specimen  of  this 
sort  of  work,  including  a  good  knowledge  of  figures.  This  was  about  the  period 
when  the  boy  became  interested  in  the  theory  of  surveying.  He  pursued  the 
study  at  odd  hours  which  he  stole  from  sleep  or  from  the  recreations  usually 
considered  essential  to  the  health  and  hnppinrss  of  youth. 


THE  TRIP  TO   NEW   ORLEANS. -YOUNG   LINCOLN   AS   A   "BOW-HAND." 


ii) 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    LLNCOLNS    EMIGRATE    TO    ILLINOIS. 

THE  " milk-sickness"  was  still  prevalent  in  Indiana,  and  for  this  and  other 
reasons  a  letter  received  from  John  Hanks,  formerly  of  Elizabethtown,  Ken 
tucky,  then  of  Decatur,  Illinois,  speaking  of  the  vast  reaches  of  prairie  in  his 
state,  the  richness  of  the  soil,  the  winding  rivers  and  creeks,  and  the  heautiful 
groves  of  oak,  maple  and  elm,  met  with  a  ready  reception  in  the  elder  Lincoln's 
mind.  Hanks  promised  that  if  Thomas  Lincoln  would  come  to  Illinois  he  would 
select  a  quarter-section  of  land  for  him  and  have  the  logs  cut  for  a  cabin.  Immi 
gration  had  already  set  in,  largely,  to  Illinois  from  Kentucky.  One  of  the  step 
daughters  had  married  Levi  Hall  and  the  other  Dennis  Hanks,  and  all  were 
willing  to  go  Abe's  sister  had  married  Aaron  Grigsby,  and  in  two  years  died. 
There  were  no  dear  friends  to  be  left  behind.  Abe  was  now  of  age,  but 
ready  to  cast  his  lot  in  with  the  rest.  It  was  a  long  and  tedious  journey,  but 
by  early  spring,  in  the  year  1830,  they  could  reach  the  end.  They  passed 
through  snow,  sleet,  rain,  mud  and  chilling  winds;  the  rivers  were  filled  with  ice 
or  overflowing  their  banks;  they  usually  slept  at  night  in  their  wagons.  The 
father  received  the  hearty  co-operation  of  his  stalwart  son,  who  drove  the  team 
of  four  yoke  of  oxen,  swung  the  ax  to  split  rails  to  build  a  temporary  shelter, 
and  when  the  wagon  sank  in  the  mire,  he  put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel. 

A  little  dog  accompanied  them,  and  the  tenderness  of  Abe's  heart  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  one  day  when  the  dog  was  unwittingly  left  behind,  howling,  on  the 
farther  side  of  a  stream,  Abraham  Lincoln  had  not  the  heart  to  leave  it.  Bare 
footed,  he  jumped  into  the  water,  crossed  the  stream,  took  the  dog  in  his  arms, 
and  waded  back  with  him,  very  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  Abraham,  and 
certainly  very  much  to  the  delight  of  the  dog. 

At  the  spot  near  Decatur  where  Thomas  Lincoln  settled  were  found  the  logs 
which  John  Hanks  had  promised,  ready  for  the  new  house,  and  Abraham  Lincoln, 
"  wearing  a  jean  jacket,  shrunken  buckskin  trousers,  a  coonskin  cap,  and  driving 
an  ox-team,"  became  a  citizen  of  Illinois.  He  was  physically  and  mentally 
equipped  for  pioneer  work.  His  first  desire  was  to  obtain  a  new  and  decent 
suit  of  clothes,  but  as  he  had  no  money,  he  was  glad  to  arrange  with  Nancy 
Miller  to  make  him  a  pair  of  trousers,  he  to  split  four  hundred  fence-rails  for 
each  yard  of  cloth— fourteen  hundred  rails  in  all.  It  was  three  miles  from  his 

41 


42 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


father's  cabin  to  her  wood-lot,  where  he  made  the  forest  ring  with  the  sound  of  his 
ax.  Abraham  had  helped  his  father  plow  fifteen  acres  of  land,  and  split  enough 
rails  to  fence  it,  and  he  then  helped  to  plow  fifty  acres  for  another  settler. 

Abraham  now  being  over  twenty-one,  there  was  no  one  to  restrain  him  from 
leaving  home.  He  had  been  faithful  to  his  parents,  and  there  were  no  ties  that 
bound  him  to  his  old  associates,  unless  it  was  his  good  stepmother.  He  was  free, 
and  could  go  and  do  what  he  pleased,  and  attempt  those  things  which  were 
nearest  his  heart;  but  where  he  would  find  them,  or  how  he  would  secure  them, 
was  a  problem  unsolved. 

Illinois,  now  an  empire  with  a  commercial  capital  of  over  four  million 
people,  had  in  1830  a  little  over  fifty  thousand  inhabitants.  Judge  Arnold  tells 


GRAVEYARD   WHERE   SARAH   GRIGSBY   IS   BURIED. 

(Her  grave  is  marked  by  the  stone  under  flag.) 

us  that  the  Indian  word  from  which  the  name  of  the  state  was  derived  was 
"Illini,"  signifying  the  ''Land  of  full-grown  men.1* 

Thomas  Lincoln  moved  at  least  three  times  in  search  of  a  location,  and  finally 
settled  on  Goosenest  Prairie,  in  Coles  county,  near  Farmington,  where  he  dkd, 
in  1851,  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  seventy-three.  He  had  mortgaged  his  little  farm 
of  forty  acres  for  two  hundred  dollars,  but  Abraham  had  paid  the  debt  and  taken 
a  deed  of  the  land,  which  contained  the  clause,  "With  a  reservation  of  a  life 
estate  therein  to  them  or  the  survivor  of  them."  As  soon  as  Abraham  got  up  a 
little  in  the  world,  he  began  to  send  his  stepmother  money,  and  continued  to  do 
so  until  his  own  death.  Sarah  Bush  Lincoln  died  April  10,  1869. 

It  was  in  April,  1830,  that  Lincoln  left  home  for  good.  He  did  not  go  far, 
but  sought  work  in  the  neighborhood  among  the  settlers.  Rail-splitting  seemed 
to  be  the  favorite  kind  of  work.  In  March,  1831,  he  was  fortunate  in  meeting  a 


LINCOLN  CROSSING  THE   STREAM   WITH   THE   DOG. 


LINCOLN'S   FIRST   ILLINOIS    IKt.Mi;. 
43 


44 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


singular  character  known  as  Denton  Offutt,  of  Springfield.  Offutt  was  enter 
prising  and  aggressive,  full  of  spirits  in  more  senses  than  one,  ;md  kept  things 
moving  along  the  line  of  the  Sangamon.  This  man,  who  was  tit  that  time  buy 
ing  produce  for  the  New  Orleans  market,  employed  Lincoln.  John  Hanks  and 
John  Johnston  to  make  a  trip  to  New  Orleans.  They  went  down  the  Sangamon 
to  Jamestown,  and  walked  to  Springfield.  It  was  but  two  years  since  Lincoln  had 
made  the  trip  for  Mr.  Gentry,  of  Gentry ville,  Indiana,  with  Gentry's  son  Allen,  and 
therefore  he  knew  something  of  the  river,  and  of  the  great  city  near  its  mouth. 

Offutt  agreed  to  pay  the  three  young  men  fifty  cents  a  day  each,  and  sixty 
dollars  for  the  trip,  besides  boarding  them.     He  agreed  to  have  the  bosit  ready  f<  r 


THE   THOMAS   LINCOLN  CABIN,    IN   COLES   COUNTY,   ILLINOIS. 

them  at  Judy's  Ferry,  five  miles  from  Springfield,  but  after  they  had  rowed  down 
the  Sangamon  to  Springfield,  they  found  Offutt  exercising  his  social  qualities 
with  the  guests  of  the  Buckhorn  tavern,  and  increasing  at  a  lively  rate  the 
profits  of  the  bar.  But  there  was  no  boat.  A  boat  was  the  first  requisite  for 
the  trip,  and  Offutt  finally  employed  the  boys  to  build  one.  Abraham  was  to 
have  charge  of  its  construction,  and  he  was  well  qualified  for  the  task.  Trees 
on  the  government  reservation,  for  which  they  had  to  pay  nothing,  were  cut 
down,  and  the  ax,  the  saw,  the  chisel  and  the  auger  were  used  in  the  work. 
Abraham,  the  "boss,"  did  the  cooking. 

Two  giants  of  the  forest  were  hewed  into  timbers  for  the  Fides  of  the  boat,  to 
which  the  planks  for  the  bottom,  which  had   been  sawed  out  at  KirkpatricW 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


45 


sawmill,  near  by,  were  stoutly  pinned,  and  the  seams  were  calked  and  then 
pitched.  It  was  a  strong  boat.  Lincoln  had  had  experience  in  building  boats 
with  his  father,  and  knew  just  what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it.  The  launching 
was  a  great  affair.  Offutt  came  out  from  Springfield  with  a  large  party  and  an 
ample  supply  of  whisky,  to  give  the  boat  and  its  builders  a  send-off.  It  was  a 
sort  of  bipartizan  mass-meeting,  but 
there  was  one  prevailing  spirit,  that 
born  of  rye  and  corn.  Speeches 
were  made  in  the  best  of  feeling, 
some  in  favor  of  Andrew  Jackson 
and  some  in  favor  of  Henry  Clay. 
Abraham  Lincoln,  the  cook,  told  a 
number  of  funny  stories,  and  it  is 
recorded  that  they  were  not  of  too 
refined  a  character  to  suit  the  taste 
of  his  audience.  A  sleight-of-hand 
performer  was  present,  and  among 
other  tricks  performed,  he  fried  some 
eggs  in  Lincoln's  hat.  Judge  Hern- 
don  says,  as  explanatory  to  the  delay 
in  passing  up  the  hat  for  the  exper 
iment,  Lincoln  drolly  observed:  "It 
was  out  of  respect  for  the  eggs, 
not  care  for  my  hat.1' 

The  boat  was  loaded  with  pork 
and  beef  in  barrels,  pork  on  foot, 
and  corn.  April  19,  1831,  the  boat 
and  its  load  left  Sangamon,  and 
floated  down  the  river  toward  New 
Salem,  a  town  destined  to  be  for 
awhile  the  scene  of  Lincoln's  activ 
ities.  A  Mr.  Rutledge,  Mr.  Coffin 
states,  "had  built  a  dam  at  a  bend 
in  the  river  and  erected  a  mill  on 
the  western  bank.  The  boat,  instead 
of  gliding  over  the  dam,  hung  fast 
upon  it.  It  was  necessarily  a  pon 
derous  affair  in  itself,  and  was 

heavily  loaded.  Lincoln  was  the  man  to  discover  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty. 
Some  of  the  barrels  of  pork  and  beef  at  the  bow,  "the  forward  end,"  as  Mr. 
Coffin  writes,  were  taken  on  shore.  The  boat,  as  a  result  of  insufficient  calking, 
was  partly  filled  with  water.  Lincoln  bored  a  hole,  with  a  large  auger,  in  the 
bottom  of  the  end  projecting  over  the  dam,  and  the  water  ran  out.  Then  the 
hole  was  plugged,  the  barrels  near  the  stern  rolled  up  in  front,  and  the  boat  was 


THE  GRAVE  OF   THOMAS  LINCOLN. 


46 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


floated  successfully  over  the  dam,  reloaded,  and  went  on  its  way.  The  people  of 
New  Salem  were  gathered  on  the  banks,  and  recognized,  with  deep  interest,  the 
skill  of  the  captain  of  the  bout.  A  board  sail  which  Lincoln  had  put  up.  for  lack 
of  canvas,  excited  much  amusement  at  New  Salem,  Beardstown,  Alton,  St.  Louis 
and  other  points  on  the  route. 

Offutt  had  purchased  an  additional  number  of  pigs  at  Blue  Bank,  to  put  on 
board.  Squire  Godbey,  of  whom  he  bought  them,  and  the  three  men  undertook 
to  drive  them  on  board,  but  they  refused  to  be  driven.  Lincoln  had  their  eye 
lids  sewed  together,  but  that  did  not  make  the  undertaking  a  bit  more  practi 
cable.  Finally,  they  were  taken  up,  one  by  one,  and  carried  on  the  boat.  Lincoln 
tben  cut  the  threads  from  the  eyes  of  the  pigs,  and  the  party  proceeded  on  the 
journey. 


DOWN   THE   8ANGAMON. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

LINCOLN'S  SECOND  VISIT  TO  NEW  ORLEANS. 

IN  this  season  of  the  year  the  trip  down  the  majestic  Mississippi,  as  she 
passes  each  day  into  a  warmer  atmosphere,  is  especially  interesting,  and 
Lincoln  was  daily  learning  more  of  life,  and  of  the  breadth  and  grandeur  of  the 
country  over  the  destinies  of  which,  thirty  years  afterward,  he  was  to  preside. 
Memphis,  Vicksburg  and  Natchez  were  passed,  after  short  stops  at  each,  and 
Lincoln  was  again  at  a  city  which,  in  his  eyes  and  in  those  of  his  companions,. 
was  a  great  metropolis.  He  saw  the  old  sights  and  some  new  ones,  and  what  he 
saw  not  only  added  to  his  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  but  stimulated  hia 
moral  and  humane  impulses. 

He  had  seen  slaves  in  Kentucky  when  he  was  a  small  boy,  and  occasionally 
one  in  Illinois,  nominally— by  virtue  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787— a  free  state. 
But  .now,  in  his  strolls  about  various  portions  of  the  city,  he  saw  slaves  from 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  marching  along  on  their  way  to  sugar-cane  and  cotton 
plantations,  and  he  finally  came  to  a  slave  auction.  Here  men  and  women  were 
sold  from  the  block.  His  interest  and  his  latent  generous  sympathies  were 
touched  by  this  sad,  extraordinary  sight.  Human  beings  were  treated  like 
cattle,  only  worse.  Comely  maidens,  sensitive,  apprehensive,  trembling,  stood 
upon  the  block  and  were  brutally  handled  by  men  who  intended  purchasing,  and 
by  others  who  merely  wished  to  gratify  their  brutal  tastes  and  propensities. 
The  women  and  girls  were  pinched,  coarsely  questioned,  made  the  objects  of 
sport,  their  mouths  opened  and  examined;  and  they  were  driven  about  to  show 
whether  they  were  sound  in  foot  and  limb,  and  then  sold  to  men  of  whom  they 
could  know  nothing  and  from  whom  they  could  only  expect  the  worst.  Hus 
bands,  wives  and  children  wept  as  they  were  separated,  in  most  instances  never 
to  meet  in  this  world  again. 

What  a  spectacle  was  this  in  the  American  republic,  the  land  of  fieedcm,  in 
which  the  Declaration  of  Independence  had  been  adopted  a  little  over  half  a 
century  before!  It  is  not  strange  that  Abraham  Lincoln's  heart  was  profoundly 
stirred  and  that  the  hot  iron  of  this  terrible  wrong  went  into  his  soul.  Just 
what  Lincoln  said  on  this  occasion  is  not  definitely  known,  as  different  versions 
are  given,  and  some  biographers  deny  that  he  said  anything.  But  as  to  what  he 
meant  it  is  not  difficult  to  guess.  One  of  his  biographers  (Coffin)  states  that  he 


48 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


said,  with  "quivering  lips  and  soul  on  fire,1'  to  John  Hanks:  "John,  if  I  ever 
get  a  chance  to  hit  that  institution,  I'll  hit  it  hard,  by  the  Eternal  God!1'  If  he 
didn't  say  it,  he  ought  to  have  done  so.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  he  felt  it; 
and  Judge  Herndon  says  that  Lincoln  told  him  that  he  said  it.  The  apparent 
profanity  can  be  easily  excused  when  the  provocation  is  borne  in  mind.  This 
was  no  doubt  a  crucial  period  in  Lincoln's  life.  It  gave  him  something  to  think 
about  for  long  years,  and  when  he  came  on  the  field  of  action,  not  long  after 
ward,  when  the  institution  of  slavery  became  a  political  problem,  he  felt  that  he 
had  personal  knowledge  and  had  had  a  vivid  experience  as  to  its  true  nature. 


LINCOLN  AS   A   FLATHOATMAN. 


The  produce  was  disposed  of  at  satisfactory  prices.  Offutt  had  gone  down  to 
New  Orleans  to  attend  to  the  selling,  and  he,  Lincoln,  Hanks  and  Johnston 
boarded  a  steamboat  and  started  up  the  river.  Judge  Arnold  quotes  Lincoln's 
companions  on  the  trip  homeward  as  attempting  to  describe  his  indignation  and 
grief.  They  said,  "His  heart  bled;  ...  he  was  mad,  thoughtful, 
abstracted,  sad  and  depressed."  Lincoln  had  been  among  people  who  were 
believers  in  premonitions  and  supernatural  appearances  all  his  life,  and  he  once 
declared  to  his  friends  that  he  was  "from  boyhood  superstitious."  He  said  to 
the  judge  that  "the  near  approach  of  the  important  events  of  his  life  were 
indicated  by  a  presentiment  or  a  strange  dream,  or  in  some  other  mysterious  way 
it  was  impressed  upon  him  that  something  important  was  to  occur." 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


49 


There  is  an  old  tradition  that  on  this  visit  to  New  Orleans  he  and  his  com 
panion,  John  Hanks,  visited  an  old  fortune-teller — a  voodoo  negress.  Tradition 
says  that  u  during  the  interview  she  became  very  much  excited,  and  after  various 
predictions  exclaimed:  'You  will  be  president,  and  all  the  negroes  will  be  free.1 
That  the  old  voodoo  negress  should  have  foretold  that  the  visitor  would  be 
president  is  not  at  all  incredible.  She  doubtless  told  this  to  many  aspiring  lads, 
but  the  prophecy  qf  the  freedom  of  the  slaves  lacks  confirmation. " 

The  boat  stopped  at  St.  Louis,  Offutt  remaining  to  purchase  goods  for  the 
''store'1  he  was  to  establish  at  New  Salem,  and  his  companions  continuing  their 
journey  on  foot  across  the  country  to  Farmington,  where  Thomas  Lincoln  was 


SLAVE    QUARTERS    IN    LOUISIANA. 

indulging  in  his  marked  propensity  by  putting  up  a  new  house.  This  time  it 
was  a  two-roomed  structure.  It  was  also  made  of  hewed  logs,  and  Abraham 
remained  here  a  month,  giving  his  father  efficient  help. 

On  an  appointed  day  Abraham  was  to  meet  Offutt  at  New  Salem,  but  while 
he  was  tarrying  at  Farmington  his  large  dimensions  attracted  attention,  and  a 
certain  Daniel  Needham,  the  "champion  wrestler  of  Coles  county,"  began  to 
resent  the  invasion  of  his  territory  by  this  big-limbed  interloper.  Needham  had 
placed  all  of  his  muscular  neighbors  on  their  backs  at  one  time  or  another,  and 
was  not  slow  to  talk  or  to  fight.  Lincoln  received  from  him  a  special  challenge, 
and  readily  accepted  it,  and  time  and  place  were  agreed  upon.  At  Wabash  Point 


50 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


the  battle  came  off,  and  Needham,  after  a  brief  struggle,  was  placed  on  the 
ground,  flat  on  his  back.  Greatly  chagrined,  the  defeated  athlete  demanded 
another  trial,  which  was  readily  granted,  with  a  like  result. 

On  the  day  appointed,  Lincoln  became  a  citizen  of  New  Salem.  He  was  to 
be  a  clerk  in  Offutt's  new  store.  He  was  now  in  a  new  atmosphere  and  in  new 
surroundings,  and  was  to  attempt  to  carry  on  a  new  business.  Lincoln  hrd 


CLEARING    NEW    GROUND   IN    PIONEER   DAYS. 

paddled  down  the  river  in  a  canoe  and  landed  at  Rutledge's  mill.  Offutt  was 
there  to  welcome  him  and  escort  him  to  New  Salem,  then  a  prosperous  village, 
located  on  a  bluff  a  hundred  feet  high,  and  surrounded  by  an  expanse  of  fertile  fields 
and  pastures.  The  Sangamon  river  skirted  the  base  of  the  bluff,  and  presented  a 
fine  view  from  the  summit.  North  of  the  town  was  the  old  mill  over  the  dam 
of  which  Lincoln  had  taken  his  flatboat.  Of  the  surrounding  country  Judge 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


51 


Herndon  writes:  "The  country  in  almost  every  direction  is  diversified  by  alter 
nate  stretches  of  hills  and  level  lands,  with  streams  between  each,  struggling  to 
reach  the  river.  The  hills  are  bearded  with  timber — oak,  hickory,  walnut,  ash 
and  elm.  Below  them  are  stretches  of  rich  alluvial  bottom  land,  and  the  eye 
ranges  over  a  vast  expanse  of  foliage,  the  monotony  of  which  is  relieved  by  the 
alternating  swells  and  depressions  of  the  landscape.  Between  peak  and  peak, 
through  its  bed  of  limestone,  sand  and  clay,  sometimes  kissing  the  feet  of  one 
bluff  and  then  hugging  the  other,  rolls  the  Sangamon  river."  Fine  scenery 
often  influences  for  good  an  impressionable  and  appreciative  young  person. 


NEW   SALEM   STREET. 

The  site  of  New  Salem,  laid  out  in  1828,  is  now  a  desert.  In  1836,  it  is  said 
to  have  had  twenty  houses  and  one  hundred  inhabitants.  u  How  it  vanished." 
one  writer  observes,  ulike  a  mist  in  the  morning,  to  what  distant  place  its 
inhabitants  dispersed,  and  what  became  of  the  abodes  they  left  behind,  shall  be 
questions  for  the  local  historian."  One  of  these  inhabitants,  only  twenty-eight 
years  afterward,  became  an  honored  occupant  of  the  White  House. 

Lincoln  was  nominally  Offutt's  clerk,  but  he  had  a  few  days  of  leisure  before 
the  goods  arrived  from  St.  Louis,  which  time  he  employed  in  making  the  acquain- 


52 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


tance  of  as  many  of  the  people  as  possible.  In  the  interval  the  annual  election 
came  around.  A  Mr.  Graham  was  clerk,  but  his  assistant  was  absent,  and  it  was 
necessary  to  find  a  man  to  fill  his  place.  Lincoln,  a  utall  young  man.11  had 
already  concentrated  on  himself  the  attention  of  the  people  of  the  town,  and  Mr. 
Graham  easily  discovered  him.  Asking  him  if  he  could  write,  he  modestly 
replied,  "I  can  make  a  few  rabbit-tracks.1'  His  rabbit-tracks  proving  to  be  leg 
ible  and  even  graceful,  he  was  employed.  The  voters  soon  discovered  that  the 
new  assistant  clerk  was  honest  and  fair,  and  performed  his  duties  satisfactorily, 
and  when,  the  work  done,  he  began  to  "  entertain  them  with  stories,11  they  dis 
covered  that  their  town  had  made  a  valuable  personal  and  social  acquisition. 


LINCOLN   STUDIES    UNDER    DIFFICULTIES. 


During  this  interval  an  incident  occurred  that  gave  Lincoln  something  to  do. 
One  of  the  citizens,  a  Dr.  Nelson,  decided  to  remove  to  Texas  with  his  family 
and  goods,  and  employed  Lincoln  to  take  him  to  Beardstown,  where  he  could 
take  a  steamboat  for  St.  Louis.  The  family  and  their  household  furniture  and 
other  articles  were  put  on  a  flatbont  and  floated  down  the  Sangamon  to  the 
Illinois  river.  The  water  was  low,  but  the  journey  was  safely  accomplished. 

Now  began  Lincoln's  life  as  a  "  storekeeper.11  On  the  eighth  of  July,  Offutt 
received  permission  from  the  county  authorities  to  "retail  merchandise  at  New 
Salem.11  The  value  of  the  goods  was  put  at  one  thousand  dollars — a  large  sum, 
in  those  days,  in  a  small  town.  A  man  worth  ten  thousand  dollars  cut  as  large 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


53: 


a  figure  as  a  man  of  the  present  day  who  assumes  to  be  worth  half  a  million. 
The  building  was  a  little  log  house.  Dry-goods  and  groceries  composed  the 
stock,  and  doubtless  there  were  other  articles  not  included  in  these  terms.  Any 
thing  the  people  were  thought  likely  to  buy  was  kept,  and  sold  when  called  for. 
Lincoln  commenced  business  as  a  merchant,  but  he  was  not  a  business  man,, 
neither  by  nature  nor  training,  and  never  became  one. 

At  this  period  he  found  something  much  more  attractive  to  him' than  the 
selling  of  goods,  or  of  receiving  money  for  them.     It  was  Samuel  KirkhamV 


; 


OLD   MILL   AT    NEW  SALEM. 


English  grammar,  printed  in  Cincinnati,  by  N.  and  G.  Guilford,  in  1828.  Gray- 
headed  men  of  the  present  day  do  not  recall  this  work  with  very  pleasant  recollec 
tions,  but  Lincoln  found  it  exceedingly  interesting — so  much  so  that  he  may  have 
neglected  the  little  business  which  came  straggling  into  the  store.  But  he  gave 
the  book  a  thorough  study,  and  he  could  soon  repeat  the  rules  and  suggestions, 
word  for  word,  and  knew  how  to  apply  them.  He  learned  how  to  construct 
sentences  clearly  and  in  understandable  English.  To  this  may  be  credited  the 
fact  that  nobody  who  ever  listened  to  Abraham  Lincoln  in  later  days  failed  to 
understand  what  he  said  or  what  he  meant.  To  an  acquaintance  (Mentor  Gra- 


54 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


ham)  he  was  indebted  for  the  knowledge  of  the  book,  and  he  walked  several 
miles  to  the  house  of  a  man  named  Vaner  to  obtain  it. 

Lincoln  had  periods  in  which  there  was  nothing  for  him  to  do,  and  was 
therefore  in  circumstances  that  made  laziness  almost  inevitable.  Had  people 
come  to  him  for  goods,  they  would  have  found  him  willing  to  sell  them.  He 
sold  all  that  he  could,  doubtless.  The  store  soon  became  the  social  center  of  the 
village.  If  the  people  did  not  care  (or  were  unable)  to  buy  goods,  they  liked  to 
go  where  they  could  talk  with  their  neighbors  and  listen  to  stories.  These  Lin 
coln  gave  them  in  abundance,  and  of  a  rare  sort.  Afterward  Lincoln  obtained  a 
text-book  on  mathem  itics,  and  made  good  use  of  it.  He  never  took  a  book  in 

hand  that  he  did  not  master. 

As  much,  however,  as  Lin 
coln  lacked  business  training 
and  the  tact  one  requires  to 
sell  goods,  his  integrity  was 
unquestioned.  He  watched  the 
interest  of  his  customers  as 
much  as  that  of  his  employer; 
he  neglected  neither.  He  early 
acquired  the  title  of  "Honest 
Abe,11  and  many  anecdotes  are 
told  of  his  square  dealings.  If 
he  made  a  mistake  in  reckon 
ing  or  in  weighing,  he  was 
quick  to  rectify  it.  One  day 
he  found  that  a  woman  had 
paid  him  six  and  a  quarter 
cents  more  than  was  due,  and 
when  the  store  was  closed  for 
the  night,  he  hastened  to  cor 
rect  the  mistake,  although  she 
lived  two  miles  away. 

There  were  some  rough  peo 
ple  in  the  neighborhood.  One  of  them  used  profane  and  vile  language  in  the 
presence  of  some  women,  and  Lincoln  showed  his  gentlemanly  instincts  and  true 
gallantry  by  resenting  the  affront.  Herndon,  in  his  "Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln," 
gives  the  following  account  of  the  affair: 

"'Do  not  use  such  language,'  said  Lincoln. 

"'Who  are  you?  I  will  swear  when  and  where  I  please.  I  can  lick  you,1 
said  the  fellow. 

"'  When  the  ladies  are  gone  I  will  let  you  have  a  chance  to  do  so.' 
"The  lidies  departed,  and  the  man  dared  Lincoln  to  touch  him.     Suddenly  he 
found  himself  lying  flat  upon  his  back,  with  blows  falling  upon  him  like  the 
strokes  of  a  hammer/1 


AXUKEVV   JACKSON,    PRESIDENT    1829-37. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


55 


About  eight  miles  from  New  Salem  was  a  little  place  called  Clary's  Grove. 
The  young  men  of  that  neighborhood  had  become,  by  their  pugnacity  and 
prowess,  a  "  power  in  the  land.1'  They  were  muscular  and  aggressive.  They 
were  greatly  addicted  to  larks,  and  were  not  at  all  particular  as  to  the 
depredations  they  committed.  Judge  Herndon,  who  had  a  cousin  living  at  New 
Salem,  and  who  "knew  personally"  many  of  the  "boys,"  describes  them  as 
follows: 

"They  were  friendly  and  good-natured;  they  could  trench  a  pond,  dig  a  bog, 
build  a  house;  they  could  pray  or  fight,  make  a  village  or  create  a  state.  They 


LAST   RUTLEDGE  MILL,   ON  THE   FOUNDATION  OF   THE   MILL   OF   WHICH  LINCOLN   HAD  CHARGE. 

would  do  almost  anything  for  sport  or  fun,  love  or  necessity.  Though  rude  and 
rough,  though  life's  forces  ran  over  the  edge  of  the  bowl,  foaming  and  sparkling 
in  pure  deviltry  for  deviltry's  sake,  yet  place  before  them  a  poor  man  who  needed 
their  aid,  a  lame  or  sick  man,  a  defenseless  woman,  a  widow  or  an  orphaned 
child,  they  melted  into  sympathy  and  charity  at  once.  They  gave  all  they  had, 
and  willingly  toiled  or  played  cards  for  more.  Though  there  never  was  under 
the  sun  a  more  generous  parcel  of  rowdies,  a  stranger's  introduction  to  them  was 
likely  to  be  the  most  unpleasant  part  of  his  acquaintance  with  them." 


56  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Denton  Offutt  was  very  proud  of  Lincoln,  and  was  not  at  all  reserved  in  his 
language  when  boasting  of  Abe's  merits.  He  declared — was  it  with  a  prophet's 
prescience? — that  he  was  "  the  smartest  man  in  the  United  States,"  and  pro 
claimed  far  and  wide  that  Lincoln  could  "lift  more,  throw  farther,  run  faster, 
j  imp  higher  and  wrestle  better  than  any  man  in  Sangamon  county!"  There 
were  a  number  of  Armstrongs  at  Clary's  Grove,  and  they  were  the  chief  among 
the  "  terrors"  of  the  locality.  They  are  said  to  have  ridden  through  the  neighbor 
hood  at  night,  whooping  and  swearing  and  frightening  women  and  children. 
Hearing  of  Offutt's  boasting,  'the  boys  were  aroused,  and  determined  to  humble 
this  new  rival  in  the  esteem  of  their  fellow-citizens.  They  had  no  doubt  that 
they  could  easily  dispose  of  him,  and  one  of  the  gang  declared  that  Jack  Arm 
strong  would  put  Off  utt's  clerk  on  his  back  in  a  twinkling;  but  Lincoln's  employer 
said  that  Lincoln  would  use  Armstrong  to  wipe  his  feet  on.  Bill  Clary  then 
offered  to  bet  that  Jack  was  the  better  fellow,  and  Offutt  took  it,  Lincoln  con 
senting  to  a  friendly  wrestle.  The  match  was  arranged,  and  when  the  day 
arrived,  there  was  much  local  excitement,  and  a  large  audience.  The  contest  began 
—it  was  a  severe  struggle.  None  of  Armstrong's  usual  devices  seemed  to  work,  and 
"Armstrong  soon  discovered  that  he  had  met  his  match.  Neither  could  for  some 
time  throw  the  other,  and  Armstrong,  convinced  of  this,  tried  a  foul."  This 
aroused  Lincoln's  anger,  and  a  bystander  says:  "Lincoln  no  sooner  realized  the 
gam3  of  his  antagonist  than,  furious  with  indignation,  he  caught  him  by  the 
throat,  and  holding  him  out  at  arm's  length,  shook  him  like  a  child."  Arm 
strong's  friends  rallied  to  his  aid,  but  Lincoln  held  his  own,  and  a  little  more, 
and  an  era  of  good  feeling  was  soon  organized.  Even  Jack  Armstrong  himself 
declared  that  Lincoln  was  "the  best  fellow  whoever  broke  into  the  camp." 
Thah  day  the  championship  was  transferred  to  Abraham  Lincoln.  He  was  the 
"  best  man"  of  the  neighborhood,  but  in  addition  to  being  the  champion,  he  was 
also  a  peacemaker.  The  Armstrongs  became  stout  and  lifelong  friends  of 
Lincoln,  who  had  by  his  show  of  pluck  and  strength  become  immensely  popular. 

Much  as  Lincoln  had  learned  from  Kirkham,  he  had  something  to  learn  as  to 
the  sort  of  literature  a  practical  knowledge  of  grammar  could  produce.  Mr. 
George  D.  Prentice's  Louisville  Journal  came  regularly  to  the  local  postmaster, 
who  was,  almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  one  of  Lincoln's  many  friends,  and  to 
whom  he  was  indebted  for  the  reading  of  this  fine,  strong  public  journal,  as  famous 
then  as  Mr.  Henry  Watterson's  Courier-Journal  \s  now  for  clear  English  and  a 
masterly  treatment  of  current  problems.  Not  only  did  Lincoln  learn  from  this 
newspaper  the  news  of  the  day,  but  he  was  greatly  instructed  by  its  bright, 
strong  and  able  editorials. 

Lincoln  took  much  interest  in  local  affairs.  He  was,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
familiar  with  the  important  political  and  economical  issues  of  the  day  involved 
in  what  were  called  internal  improvements,  the  making  of  roads,  canals,  etc.,  by 
the  general  government  as  a  means  of  developing  the  resources  of  the  country. 
Lincoln  favored  this  policy,  much  discussed  at  the  time,  and  as  a  man  of  public 
spirit,  he  at  once  began  to  try  to  make  a  local  application  of  the  principle. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


•57 


The  Sangamon  river,  he  thought,  might  be  navigated.  Much  interest  was  man 
ifested,  and  it  was  not  long  before  Lincoln  became  the  representative  and  cham 
pion  of  the  idea.  Indeed,  he  made  several  little  speeches  in  favor  of  it.  The 
Sangamon  had  been  navigated  up  to  this  time  only  by  canoes,  flatboats  and  raits 
Therefore,  when  Captain  Vincent  Bogue,  of  Springfield,  in  the  spring  of  1832T 
went  to  Cincinnati  to  buy  a  steamboat,  with  which  he  proposed  to  navigate  the 
Sangamon  and  to  connect  Springfield  and  New  Salem  with  tide-water,  the  people 


PIONEERS   MAKING  CLAPBOARDS. 

went  wild.  The  steamer  "Talisman"  was  purchased  at  Cincinnati  and  wns 
started  on  its  way  down  the  Ohio;  then  steamed  up.  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Illinois  to  the  vicinity  of  Alton,  and  thence  np  the  Sangamon  to  the  point  in 
that  stream  nearest  Springfield. 

New  Salem  was  a  small  town,  but  at  once  it  was  accepted  as  a  fact  that  it 
had  a  great  future.  Certainly  it  had  "great  expectations."  Captain  Bogue  had 
inflated  views  as  to  the  success  of  his  enterprise,  and  at  once  made  great  promises. 
The  round  trip  to  Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis  was  to  be  made  once  a  week,  and  the 


58  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

merchants  of  Springfield  advertised  new  goods  "  direct  from  the  East,  per  steamer 
Talisman.1"  Mails  were  also  to  be  received  once  a  week  by  steamer.  All  the 
land  in  the  neighborhood  of  Springfield,  New  Salem  and  other  towns  on  the 
river  was  platted  and  cut  up  into  town  lots.  Many  of  the  people  seemed  (to 
themselves)  to  be  already  rich.  At  Captain  Bogue's  suggestion,  a  number  of 
men — Lincoln  among  them — went  down  from  New  Saleni,  with  long-handled  axes, 
to  a  point  near  Beardstown,  to  meet  the  boat  as  she  entered  the  mouth  of  the 
Sangamon,  and  to  cut  away  the  branches  on  either  side,  so  that  she  could  pass 
on  up  the  stream.  Judge  Herndon  writes  that  he  "and  olher  ICAS  on  horseback 
followed  the  boat,  riding  along  the  river's  bank  as  far  as  Bogue's  mill,  where  she 
tied  up;  there  we  went  aboard,  and,  lost  in  boyish  wonder,  feasted  our  eyes  on 
the  splendor  of  her  interior  decoration.'1  Great  excitement  was  created  all  along 
the  route.  Few  of  the  people  had  ever  seen  a  steamboat. 

All  Springfield  was  aroused,  and  materialized  in  full  force  at  the  landing. 
The  people  had  been  organizing  themselves  for  the  red-letter  day  in  the  history 
of  the  town.  A  grand  reception  awaited  the  captain  and  his  crew,  and  the 
captain  (not  Captain  Bogue)  was  prepared  to  make  the  most  of  an  opportunity 
that  never  came  to  him  again.  A  reception  and  a  dance  at  the  court-house  were 
given  to  him  and  his  men,  and  a  gaudily  attired  woman  whom  he  announced  as 
uhis  wife."  But  fche  captain  and  his  u  wife"  were  both  soon  under  the  influence 
of  ardent  spirits,  and  Springfield's  cultivated  and  refined  ladies  very  naturally 
took  offense  and  withdrew.  Society  was  shocked  to  learn,  the  next  day,  that  the 
woman  was  no  wife,  but  an  adventuress  who  had  been  picked  up  on  the  way  to 
Springfield. 

The  Talisman  remained  a  week  at  the  landing,  arid  the  water  in  the  river 
lowering,  it  was  thought  best  to  steam  on  down  the  several  rivers  to  St.  Louis. 
Much  difficulty  was  encountered  at  various  point*,  but  Abraham  Lincoln  and 
Judge  Herndon's  brother  were  on  deck  and  piloted  her  down  to  Beardstown.  She 
then  steamed  down  the  Mississippi  to  St.  Louis,  where  she  caught  fire  at  the 
warf  and  was  burned  to  the  water's  edge.  That  wns  the  last  of  the  navigation 
of  the  Sangamon  by  steamboats,  except  in  theory.  Canoes,  skiffs  and  flatboats 
have  had  no  rivals  there  since  that  time. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE    BLACK    HAWK    WAR. 

WE  now  come  to  an  historical  event  of  some  importance — the  breaking  out, 
and  the  prosecution  to  its  conclusion,  of  what  is  called  the  Black  Hawk 
war.  If  it  did  nobody  else  any  good,  it  was  of  benefit  to  Abraham  Liucoln,  as 
it  opened  to  him  an  opportunity  to  do  something  for  his  country,  but  especially 
for  himself.  Denton  Offutt,  his  old  employer,  had  failed  and  removed  elsewhere. 
Subsequent  events  showed  that  he  became  a  resident  of  Baltimore,  and  pre 
sented  to  the  public  a  scheme  for  taming  wild  horses  by  whispering  in  their  ears. 
Captain  Bogue's  Talisman  bubble  bursted,  leaving  Lincoln  disappointed  and  adrift. 

In  April,  1832,  the  people  were  startled  by  the  appearance  of  a  circular, 
which  was  scattered  everywhere.  It  was  an  address  to  and  a  call  upon  the 
militia  of  the  northwestern  portion  of  the  state,  from  Governor  Reynolds,  to 
rendezvous  within  a  week  at  Btaidstown,  to  repel  an  invasion  by  the  Sac  rr.d 
other  Indians,  led  by  the  famous  Black  Hawk.  This  great  chief  had  formerly 
occupied  the  northwestern  portion  of  the  state,  but  on  June  30,  1831,  had 
solemnly  promised  Governor  Reynolds  and  General  Gaines,  of  the  United  Sintes 
army,  that  none  of  his  tribe  should  ever  cross  the  Mississippi  uto  their  usual 
place  of  residence,  nor  to  any  part  of  their  old  hunting-grounds  east  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  without  permission  of  the  president  of  the  United  States  or  the  governor 
of  the  state  of  Illinois."  The  land  formerly  owned  by  the  Indians  was  in  1804 
sold  to  the  United  States  government,  but  "with  the  provision  that  the  Indians 
should  hunt  and  raise  corn  there  until  it  was  surveyed  and  sold  to  settlers."" 

Black  Hawk  resisted  the  encroachments  of  the  squatters,  who  had  proved, 
like  many  another  pioneer  community  of  whites,  to  be  the  aggressors.  But  the 
whites,  although  the  line  agreed  upon  was  fifty  miles  to  the  eastward,  persisted 
in  evading  both  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  agreement,  and  Black  Hawk, 
aggrieved,  exasperated  and  broken-hearted,  announced  a  theory  that  has  been 
exploited  by  latter-day  theorists.  "My  reason  teaches  me,"  Black  Hawk  wrote, 
"that  land  cannot  be  sold.  The  Great  Spirit  gave  it  to  his  children  to  live  upon 
and  cultivate,  as  far  as  it  is  necessary  for  their  subsistence;  and  so  long  a?  they 
occupy  and  cultivate  it,  they  have  the  right  to  the  soil;  but  if  they  voluntarily 
leave,  then  any  other  people  have  a  right  to  settle  upon  it.  Nothing  can  le  sold 
but  such  things  as  can  be  carried  away!' 


60 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Black  Hawk  had  been  known  throughout  the  territory  as  an  able  and  aggres 
sive  warrior,  and  as  one  who  had  sympathized  and  co-operated  with  the  enemies 
of:  the  country,  espacially  the  British.  Here,  however,  he  was  justified  in  feeling 
that  he  had  been  wronged.  He  had  not  been  allowed  to  plant  his  corn  on  the 
lands  set  aside  to  him  for  that  purpose,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  he  was  persuaded 
by  another  famous  Indian  (White  Cloud,  the  prophet)  to  invade  the  Rock  river 
country  in  1831,  and  try  to  drive  back  the  squatters.  But  he  was  driven  back, 
and  his  wrongs  were  not  righted.  At  this  time  he  signed  a  formal  treaty  never 
to  return  east  of  the  Mississippi. 

Now  Black  Hawk,  in  his  old  age — at  sixty-seven — became,  in  turn,  the 
.aggressor.  He  regretted  that  he  had  "touched  the  goose-quill"  to  the  treaty. 

Bad  counsels  of  White  Cloud  "  and 
his  disciple  Neapope,"  a  promise  of 
'•guns,  ammunition  and  provisions'1 
from  the  British,  his  own  treachery 
and  obstinacy,  and  the  hope  of  suc 
cess,  inspired  him  to  trample  upon 
treaties  and  to  make  another  trial. 
On  April  6,  1832,  he  crossed  the 
Mississippi  with  about  five  hundred 
braves  and  his  squaws  and  children, 
and  advanced  to  Prophetstown,  thirty- 
five  miles  up  Rock  river.  It  was  ten 
days  afterward  that  Governor  Rey 
nolds'  proclamation  and  call  for  the 
services  of  the  militia  to  assemble 
within  a  week  at  Beardstown,  on  the 
Illinois  river,  was  issued.  Lincoln, 
with  nothing  to  do,  and  anxious  to 
do  .something,  dropped  a  personal 
canvass  which  he  was  then  making 
in  the  interest  of  his  own  candidacy 
for  a  seat  in  the  Illinois  Legislature, 
A  company  was  promptly  raised,  and  by 


BLACK   HAWK. 


and  was  one  of  the  first  to  volunteer. 

the  twenty-second  of  April  the  men  were  at  Beardstown. 

Lincoln's  personal  campaign  had  here  a  little  variation,  but  was  really  con 
tinued.  He  had  worked  for  awhile,  some  time  before,  in  a  sawmill  for  a  man 
named  William  Kirkpatrick,  who  had  broken  faith  with  him  in  a  business  trans 
action.  Kirkpatrick  pressed  to  the  front  and  announced  himself  as  a  candidate 
for  the  captaincy.  Lincoln,  who  had  what  politicians  now  call  a  "  knife  in  his 
boot-leg,"  also  announced  himself  as  a  candidate.  His  accounts  with  Kirkpat 
rick  were  squared  by  the  result  of  the  canvass.  He  took  one  position  and  Kirk 
patrick  another,  the  adherents  of  each  gathering  .around  their  favorite — three 
fourths  of  the  men  around  Lincoln,  much  to  his  surprise,  as  he  afterward  declared. 


ABRAHAM    LLNCOLN. 


61 


The  men  of  the  country  proved  to  be  a  lot  of  very  independent  citizens,  each 
with  ideas  and  a  will  of  his  own.  Each  man  also  had  a  " uniform"  of  his  own, 
but  all  knew  how  to  handle  and  operate  a  gun.  Coonskin  caps  and  buckskin 
breeches  were  the  prevailing  style.  But  the  captain  and  his  men  were  without 
any  sort  of  military  knowledge,  and  both  were  forced  to  acquire  such  knowledge 
by  attempts  at  drilling.  Which  was  the  more  awkward,  the  "  squad  "  or  the  com 
mander,  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  decide.  In  one  of  Lincoln's  earliest  mil 
itary  problems  was  involved  the  process  of  getting  his  company  "  endwise " 
through  a  gate.  Finally  he  shouted,  "This  company  is  dismissed  for  two  min 
utes,  when  it  will  fall  in  again  on  the  other  side  of  the  gate!" 

Lincoln  was  one  of  the  first  of  his  company  to  be  arraigned  for  unmilitary 
conduct.  Contrary  to  the  rules  he  fired, 
a  gun  u  within  the  limits,"  and  had 
his  sword  taken  from  him.  The  next 
infringement  of  rules  was  by  the  men, 
who  stole  a  quantity  of  liquor,  drank 
it,  and  became  unfit  for  duty,  strag 
gling  out  of  the  ranks  the  next  day, 
and  not  getting  together  again  until 
late  at  night.  For  allowing  this 
lawlessness  the  captain  was  condemned 
to  wear  a  wooden  sword  for  two  days. 
These  were  merely  interesting  but 
trivial  incidents  of  the  campaign. 
Lincoln  was  at  the  very  first  popular 
with  his  men,  although  one  of  them 
told  him  to  "  go  to  the  devil,"  and  he 
was  daily  showing  qualities  that  in 
creased  their  respect  and  admiration. 

One  day  a  poor  old  Indian  came 
into  the  camp  with  a  paper  of  safe 
conduct  from  General  Lewis  Cass  in  GOVERNOR  JOHN  REYNOLDS. 

his  possession.     The  members  of  the 

company  were  greatly  exasperated  by  late  Indian  barbarities,  among  them  the 
horrible  murder  of  n,  number  of  women  and  children,  and  were  about  io  kill  him  ; 
they  affected  to  believe  that  the  safe-conduct  paper  was  a  forgery,  and  approached 
the  old  savage  with  muskets  cocked  to  shoot  him,  when  Lincoln  rushed  forward, 
struck  up  the  weapons  with  his  hands,  and  standing  in  front  of  the  victim, 
declared  to  the  Indian  that  he  should  not  be  killed.  It  was  with  great  difficulty 
that  the  men  could  be  kept  from  their  purpose,  but  the  courage  and  firmness 
of  Lincoln  thwarted  them. 

Lincoln's  fame  as  a  wrestler  was  somewhat  diminished  in  this  campaign.  A 
man  named  Thompson  (as  Judge  Herndon  relates),  a  soldier  from  Union  county, 
managed  to  throw  him  twice  in  succession.  Lincoln's  men  declared  that  Thomp- 


62 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


son  had  been  unfair,  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  "foul  tactics,11  and  that  Lincoln's 
defeat  was  due  to  a  udog  fall."  Lincoln,  however,  showed  his  true  character  by 
declaring  that  Thompson  had  acted  fairly.  William  L.  Wilson  stated  to  Judge 
Herndon  that  in  this  campaign  he  wrestled  with  Lincoln,  "two  best  in  three, 'T 
and  "ditched1'  him.  Lincoln  was  not  satisfied,  and  the  two  tried  a  foot-race  for  a 
five-dollar  bill,  Wilson  coming  out  ahead. 

Naturally,  under  the  circumstances,  food  was  scarce,  and  the  men  learned  the 
military  art  of  ''subsisting  on  the  country,11  in  which  there  was  very  little  to 
subsist.  One  day  a  dove  was  caught  and  an  unlimited  amount  of  very  ^eak 
soup  was  made.  Chickens  as  tough  as  the  hardy  pioneers  were  found  about  the 

deserted  cabins  of  the  squatters,  and 
roasted  and  devoured.  They  supple 
mented  fresh  pork  nicely,  and  the 
voracious  appetites  of  the  menT 
whetted  by  their  exposure  and  hard 
ships,  made  their  fare  delicious. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  April, 
sixteen  hundred  men  were  organized 
into  regiments  and  moved  to  the 
seat  of  the  war.  The  weather  was 
severe,  and  mud  abounded  in  the 
roads.  But  the  men  were  hardy 
and  muscular,  and  made  light  of  the 
unfavorable  conditions.  Passing 
Yellow  Banks,  on  the  Mississippi, 
they  reached  Dixon,  on  Rock  river, 
on  the  twelfth  of  May,  and  here,  as 
Miss  Tarbell  states,  "occurred  the 
first  bloodshed  of  the  war.11  From 
Miss  TarbelTs  book  we  have  a 
graphic  account  of  Major  Stillman's 
campaign  and  treachery:  "A  body 
of  about  three  hundred  and  forty 
rangers,  not  of  the  regular  army, 

under  Major  Stillm  'n,  asked  to  go  ahead  as  scouts,  to  look  for  a  body  of  Indians, 
under  Black  Hawk,  rumored  to  be  about  twelve  miles  away.  The  permission  was 
given,  and  on  the  night  of  May  14.  1832,  Still  man  and  his  men  went  into  camp. 
Black  Hawk  heard  of  their  presence.  By  this  time  the  poor  old  chief  had 
discovered  that  the  promises  of  aid  from  the  Indian  tribes  and  the  British  were 
false,  and,  dismayed,  had  resolved  to  recross  the  Mississippi.11 

If  he  had  been  unmolested  at  this  time,  the  famous  Black  Hawk  war  would 
have  ceased  without  the  shedding  of  a  drop  of  blood.  Miss  Tarbell's  narrative 
proceeds  as  follows:  "When  he  heard  that  the  whites  were  near,  he  sent  three 
braves  with  a  white  flag  to  ask  for  a  parley,  and  permission  to  descend  the  river. 


ELIJAH    ILES. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  63 

Behind  them  he  sent  five  men  to  watch  proceedings.  Stillman's  rangers  were 
in  camp  when  the  bearers  of  the  flag  of  truce  appeared.  The  men  were  many  of 
them  half  drunk,  and  when  they  saw  the  Indian  truce-bearers,  they  rushed  out 
in  a  wild  mob  and  ran  them  into  camp.  Then  catching  sight  of  the  five  spies, 
they  started  after  them,  killing  two.  The  three  who  reached  Black  Hawk 
reported  that  the  truce-bearers  had  been  killed,  as  well  as  their  two  companions. 
Furious  at  this  violation  of  faith,  Black  Hawk  'raised  a  yell,1  and  declared  to  the 
forty  braves — all  he  had  with  him — that  they  must  have  revenge." 

That  Black  Hawk's  attack  was  vigorous  and  deadly  does  not  need  to  be  said. 
Stillman  and  his  men  were  in  search  of  the  Indians,  and  they  found  them,  to 
their  sorrow,  To  Black  Hawk's  surprise,  the  rangers  turned  in  dismay  and  put 
their  legs  to  the  best  possible  use,  distancing  the  Indians,  and  never  stojpcd  run 
ning  until  they  reached  Dixon,  twelve  miles  away,  at  midnight. 

Among  the  men  whom  Captain  Lincoln  met  in  this  campaign  ^eie  L'<  uten- 
.ant-colonel  Zachury  Taylor,  Lieutenant  Jefferson  Davis,  ai.d  Liet.Urnni  K<  but 
Anderson,  of  the  United  States  army.  Judge 
Arnold,  in  his  uLife  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  relates 
that  Lincoln  and  Anderson  did  not  meet  •<  gain  until 
some  time  in  1861.  After  Anderson  had  evacuated 
Fort  Sumter,  on  visiting  Washington,  he  called  at 
the  White  Hou-;e  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  pres 
ident.  Lincoln  expressed  his  thanks  to  Anderson 
for  his  conduct  at  Fort  Sumter,  and  then  said: 

"  Major,  do  you  remember  of  ever  meeting  me 
before?" 

"  No,  Mr.  President,   I   have  no  recollection   of 
ever  having  had  that  pleasure." 

.k,T  .      ,  ,,  „        .-,  -r-  J  MAJOR   ROBERT  ANI-EIJSON. 

My  memory  is  better  than  yours,"  said  Lincoln; 

•"you  mustered  me  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  in  18£2,  hi  Dixcn's 
Ferry,  in  the  Black  Hawk  war." 

When  a  member  of  Congress,  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  one  of  his  speeches  in  reply  to 
extravagant  claims  of  heroism  set  up  for  General  Lewis  Cass,  then  a  candidate 
for  the  presidency  against  General  Zachary  Taylor,  said: 

u By  the  way,  Mr.  Speaker,  did  you  know  of  my  military  heroism?  Yes,  sir, 
in  the  days  of  the  Black  Hawk  war  I  fought,  bled  and  came  away.  Speaking  of 
General  Cass1  career  reminds  me  of  my  own.  I  was  not  at  Stillman's  defeat,  but 
I  was  about  as  near  to  it  as  Cass  was  to  Hull's  surrender,  and,  like  him,  I  saw  the 
place  very  soon  afterward.  It  is  quite  certain  that  I  did  not  break  my  sword, 
for  I  had  none  to  break,  but  I  bent  my  musket  pretty  badly  on  one  occasion." 

An  incident  of  much  interest  occurred  during  this  campaign  which  showed 
the  stamina  of  Colonel  Zachary  Taylor,  afterward  president  of  the  United  States. 
The  volunteers  were  exasperated  at  the  way  in  which  the  war  was  carried  on, 
and  wishing  to  go  home,  held  a  mass-meeting,  and  passed  fiery  resolutions,  in 
which  they  declared  that  they  would  not  pass  over  the  state  line  in  pursuit  of  the 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


enemy.     Taylor  listened  to  them  quietly,  and  then  addressed  them,  good-naturedly 
but  shrewdly,  as  follows: 

"I  feel  that  all  gentlemen  here  are  my  equals;  in  reality,  I  am  persuaded  that 
many  of  them  will,  in  a  few  years,  be  my  superiors,  and  perhaps,  in  the  capacity 
of  members  of  Congress,  arbiters  of  the  fortunes  and  reputation  of  humble 
servants  of  the  republic,  like  myself.  I  expect  then  to  obey  them  as  interpreters 
of  the  will  of  the  people;  and  the  best  proof  that  I  will  obey  them  is  now  to 
observe  the  order  of  those  whom  the  people  huve  already  put  in  the  place  of 


BLACK   HAWK    WAR    RELICS. 

authority  to  which  many  gentlemen  around  me  justly  aspire.  In  plain  English, 
gentlemen  and  fellow-citizens,  the  word  has  been  passed  on  to  me  from  Wash 
ington  to  follow  Black  Hawk  and  to  take  you  with  me  as  soldiers.  I  mean  to  do 
both.  There  are  the  flatboats  drawn  up  on  the  shore,  and  here  are  Uncle  Sam's 
men  drawn  up  behind  you  on  the  prairie.11 

The  time  of  service  of  Lincoln^  men  had  expired,  and  as  their  campaign  had 
been  one  of  much  hardship  and  suffering,  they  were  anxious  to  return  to  their 
homes.  They  were  finally  disbanded,  and  returned  to  New  Salem  and  other 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


65 


places  whence  they  came.  Lincoln,  however,  and  a  companion  named  Harrison 
decided  to  remain,  and  both  re-enlisted  as  privates,  in  Captain  Elijah  lies' 
"  Independent  Spy  Battalion."  The  men  were  mounted,  had  no  camp  duties  to 
perform,  and  had  regular  rations;  therefore,  Lincoln  was  much  better  provided 
for  as  a  private  than  he  had  been  as  captain  of  his  old  company. 

The  Black  Hawk  war  was  now  rapidly  approaching  its  close.  But  Black 
Hawk  was  desperate,  and  was  devastating  the  country  and  murdering  the  set 
tlers.  The  people  were  panic-stricken,  and  most  of  the  settlements  were  aban 
doned.  An  old  Illinois  woman  says,  "  We  often  left  our  bread  dough  unbaked 
to  rush  to  the  Indian  fort  near  by."  As  all  able-bodied  men  had  volunteered, 
crops  were  necessarily  neglected.  One 
of  America's  great  poets  and  journalists 
William  Cullen  Bryant,  who  visited 
his  poet  brother,  Mr.  John  H.  Bryant, 
in  the  year  1832,  wrote  home  as  fol 
lows: 

"  Every  few  miles  on  our  way  we 
fell  in  with  bodies  of  Illinois  militia 
proceeding  to  the  American  camp,  or 
saw  where  they  had  encamped  for  the 
night.  They  generally  stationed  them 
selves  near  a  stream  or  a  spring  in  the 
edge  of  a  wood,  and  turned  out  their 
horses  to  graze  on  the  prairie.  Their 
way  was  barked  or  girdled,  and  the 
roads  through  the  uninhabited  country 
were  a 3  much  beaten  and  as  dusty  as 
the  highways  on  New  York  island. 
Some  of  the  settlers  complained  that 
they  made  war  upon  the  pigs  and 
chickens.  They  were  a  hard-looking 
set  of  men,  unkempt  and  unshaved, 
wearing  shirts  of  dark  calico,  and 
sometimes  calico  capotes." 

The  army  soon  afterward  marched  up  Rock  river  in  pursuit  of  Black  Hawk 
and  his  braves.  The  "rangers  "  were  employed  as  scouts  and  spies.  They  pro 
ceeded  with  a  brigade  to  the  northwest.  The  nearest  Lincoln  ever  came  to  a 
fight  was  when  he  was  in  the  vicinity  of  the  skirmish  at  Kellogg's  Grove.  The 
rangers  arrived  at  the  spot  after  the  engagement  and  helped  bury  the  five  men 
who  were  killed.  Lincoln  told  Noah  Brooks,  one  of  his  biographers,  that  he 
"  remembered  just  how  those  men  looked  as  we  rode  up  the  little  hill  where  their 
camp  was.  The  red  light  of  the  morning  sun  was  streaming  upon  them  as 
they  lay,  heads  toward  us,  on  the  ground.  And  every  man  had  a  round,  red  spot 
on  the  top  of  his  head  about  as  big  as  a  dollar,  where  the  redskins  had  taken  his 


WILLIAM   G.   GREEN. 

William  G.  Green  was  a  clerk  in  Offntt's 
store  with  Lincoln.  He  also  saw  Lincoln  bore 
the  hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  and  take  it 
over  Rutledge's  mill-dam.  Mr.  Green  died  in 
1894,  a  wealthy  man. 


66  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

scalp.  It  was  frightful,  but  it  was  grotesque;  and  the  red  sunlight  seemed  to 
paint  everything  all  over."  Lincoln  paused,  as  if  recalling  the  vivid  picture, 
and  added,  somewhat  irrelevantly,  "I  remember  that  one  man  had  on  buckskin 
breeches." 

The  troops  soon  passed  northward  into  what  was  then  known  as  a  part  of 
the  territory  of  Michigan,  but  is  now  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  and  the  month  of 
July  was  devoted  to  following  the  Indians  through  forests  and  swamps.  Black 
Hawk  was  disappointed,  disheartened  and  nearly  exhausted,  and  when  finally 
encountered  at  Bad  Ax,  was  an  easy  prey.  At  the  last  battle  of  the  war,  at  Bad 
Ax,  he  was  captured  and  the  larger  number  of  his  braves  massacred.  The  war 
was  at  last  over.  Lincoln  and  the  other  volunteers  were  mustered  out  by  Lieu 
tenant  Robert  Anderson  (afterward  famous  as  Major  Robert  Anderson,  the  hero 
of  Fort  Sumter),  and  wended  their  way  homeward. 

As  further  showing  the  generous  qualities  of  Lincoln,  and  in  the  line  of 
explaining  one  of  the  sources  of  his  popularity,  we  quote  from  D.  W.  Bartlett's 
uLife  and  Speeches  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  published  in  1860,  a  statement  of  his 
efficient  service  to  his  neighbors  in  the  "Great  Snow"  of  1830-31: 

"The  deep  snow  which  occurred  in  1830-31  was  one  of  the  chief  troubles 
endured  by  the  early  settlers  of  central  and  southern  Illinois.  Its  consequences 
lasted  through  several  years.  The  people  were  illy  prepared  to  meet  it,  as  the 
weather  had  been  mild  and  pleasant — unprecedentedly  so  up  to  Christmas — when 
a  snow-storm  set  in  which  lasted  two  days,  something  never  before  known  even 
among  the  traditions  of  the  Indians,  and  never  approached  in  the  weather  of  any 
winter  since.  The  pioneers  who  came  into  the  state  (then  a  territory)  in  18CO 
.  say  the  average  depth  of  snow  was  never,  previous  to  1830,  more  than 
knee- deep  to  an  ordinary  man,  while  it  was  breast-high  all  that  winter. 
It  became  crusted  over,  so  as,  in  some  cases,  to  bear  teams.  Cattle  and  horses 
perished,  the  winter  wheat  was  killed,  the  meager  stock  of  provisions  ran  out, 
and  during  the  three  months1  continuance  of  the  snow,  ice  and  continuous  cold 
weather  the  most  wealthy  settlers  came  near  starving,  while  some  of  the  poorer 
ones  actually  did.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  such  scenes  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
attained  his  majority,  and  commenced  his  career  of  bold  and  manly  indepen 
dence.  .  .  .  Communication  between  house  and  house  was  often  entirely 
obstructed  for  teams,  so  that  the  young  and  strong  men  had  to  do  all  the  travel 
ing  on  foot;  carrying  from  one  neighbor  what  of  his  store  he  could  spare  to 
another,  and  bringing  back  in  return  something  of  his  store  sorely  needed.  Men 
living  five,  ten,  twenty  and  thirty  miles  apart  were  called  4  neighbors1  then. 
Young  Lincoln  was  always  ready  to  perform  these  acts  of  humanity,  and  was 
foremost  in  the  counsels  of  the  settlers  when  their  troubles  seemed  gathering 
like  a  thick  cloud  about  them/' 


CHAPTER  IX. 

LINCOLN   AS   POSTMASTER,   SURVEYOR   AND  POLITICIAN. 

LINCOLN'S  military  service  had  increased  his  already  great  popularity  at 
New  Salein,  and  he  was  ready  to  resume  his  campaign  as  a  politician  and  a 
candidate  for  legislative  honors.  A.  Y.  Ellis  describes  his  personal  appearance 
at  this*  time  as  follows:  "  He  wore  a  mixed  jean  coat,  claw-hammer  style,  short 
in  the  sleeves  and  bob-tailed;  in  fact,  it  was  so  short  in  the  tail  that  he  could 
not  sit  on  it;  fl  ix  and  tow  linen  pantaloons  and  a  straw  hat.  I  think  he  wore  a 
vest,  but  do  not  remember  how  it  lookedf  he  wore  pot-metal  boots.'' 

He  had  announced  himself  as  a  candidate  previous  to  enlisting,  and  it  was 
only  ten  days  before  the  election  was 'to  take  place.  He  made  his  first  speech  at 
Pappsville.  Judge  Herndon  describes  the  occasion  as  follows:  "His  maiden 
effort  on  the  stump  was  on  the  occasion  of  a  public  sale  at  Pappsville,  a  village 
eleven  miles  west  of  Springfield.  After  the  sale  was  over  and  speech-mnking 
[by  the  several  candidates,  for  no  nominating  conventions  were  held  in  those 
days,  and  the  race  was  open  to  all]  had  begun,  a  fight,  'a  general  fight,'  as  one 
of  the  bystanders  relates,  ensued,  and  Lincoln,  noticing  one  of  his  friends  about 
to  succumb  to  the  energetic  attack  of  an  infuriated  ruffian,  interposed  to  prevent 
it.  He  did  so  most  effectually.  Hastily  descending  from  the  rude  platform,  he 
edged  his  way  through  the  crowd,  and  seizing  the  bully  by  the  neck  and  the  seat 
of  his  trousers,  threw  him,  by  means  of  his  strength  and  long  arms,  as  one  wit 
ness  stoutly  insists,  'twelve  feet  away/  Returning  to  the  stand,  and  throwing 
aside  his  hat,  he  inaugurated  his  campaign  with  the  following  brief  but  per 
tinent  declaration: 

"  Fellow-citizens,  I  presume  you  all  know  who  I  am.  I  am  humble  Abraham 
Lincoln.  I  have  been  solicited  by  many  friends  to  become  a  candidate  for  the 
Legislature.  My  politics  are  short  and  sweet,  like  the  old  woman's  dance.  I  am 
in  favor  of  the  national  bank;  I  am  in  favor  of  the  internal  improvement  system 
and  a  high  protective  tariff.  These  are  my  sentiments;  if  elected,  I  shall  be 
thankful;  if  not,  it  will  be  all  the  same." 

The  election  occurred  at  the  appointed  time.  There  were  twelve  candidates 
in  the  field,  and  although  Lincoln  received  the  nearly  unanimous  vote  of  New 
Salem  and  Clary1s  Grove — Democrats  as  well  as  Whigs — he  failed  to  receive 
enough  to  elect  him. 

67 


68 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


He  had  at  this  time  some  further  experience  in  commercial  life.  He  and  a 
fellow  named  Berry  bought  out  a  grocery,  and  after  a  number  of  changes  and 
repeated  losses,  gave  up  the  business.  Lincoln  told  stories  at  one  end  of  the  store 
and  Berry  drank  whisky  at  the  other  end.  Neither  of  the  partners  had  much,  if 
any,  business  capacity.  Reuben  Radford  decided  to  become  a  competitor  with 
Lincoln  &  Berry  at  this  time,  but  he  hid  not  considered  the  cost  of  rivalry 
with  the  favorite  of  the  Clary's  Grove  boys.  One  night  Radford  left  his  store  in 
charge  of  a  younger  brother,  and  this,  it  seems,  was  the  night  of  one  of  the 
Clary's  Grove  bays'  periodical  larks.  According  to  instructions,  the  young  man 
gave  the  members  of  the  party  two  drinks  each  and  refused  a  third,  whereupon 
the  boys  went  to  the  barrel  and  helped  themselves  until  all  were  drunk,  and  then 
commenced  shouting  and  dancing  and  proceeded  to  demolish  the  concern.  What 
remained  of  his  stock  was  sold  to  Lincoln  &  Berry.  Trade  was  dull  that  winter. 

The  farmers  had  very  little 
produce  to  sell,  and  conse 
quently  could  not  purchase 
many  goods.  Berry  the  while 
was  drinking  whisky  and  Lin 
coln  was  talking  and  musing 
over  politics.  Finally  the 
store  was  sold  to  Trent  Broth 
ers.  They  had  no  money, 
but  gave  their  notes.  Lincoln 
&  Berry  had  given  their  notes, 
so  all  the  transactions  were 
pretty  much  on  notes.  Berry 
became  a  drunken  sot.  Lin 
coln  was  again  adrift  in  the 
world.  His  funds  were  ex 
hausted,  and  he  was  heavily 

in  debt,  which  indebtedness  was  not  finally  liquidated  until  Lincoln  sent 
portions  of  his  salary  home  from  Washington,  when  he  was  in  Congress,  to 
Judge  Herndon,  to  make  the  final  payments. 

On  May  7,  1833,  Lincoln  was  appointed  postmaster  at  New  Salem.  The  office 
was  afterward  discontinued,  and  there  was  a  balance  of  sixteen  or  eighteen 
dollars  due  the  government.  This  was  overlooked  by  the  Post-office  Department, 
and  was  not  called  for  until  some  years  afterward,  Lincoln  having  removed  to 
Springfield.  During  the  interval  he  had  been  in  debt  continuously,  and,  as  usual, 
poor.  One  day  an  agent  of  the  department  called  on  Dr.  Henry,  with  whom 
Lincoln  at  that  time  kept  his  law-office.  Knowing  Lincoln's  poverty,  Dr.  Henry 
offered  to  lend  him  the  amount,  but  Lincoln  asked  the  agent  to  be  seated  while 
he  went  over  to  his  trunk  at  the  boarding-house.  He  soon  returned  with  an  old 
blue  sock,  with  a  quantity  of  old  silver  and  copper  coin  tied  up  in  it,  and 
counted  the  coin,  and  handed  over  to  the  agent  the  exact  amount  to  a  cent  in  the 


LINCOLN  &   BERRY'S  STORE. 

(Rear  view,  from  u,  recent  photograph.) 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  69 

very  identical  bits  which  had  been  received  by  him  from   the  people  of  New 
Salem. 

The  surveyor  John  Calhoun,  although  a  Democrat,  appointed  Lincoln  his 
assistant  in  the  portion  of  the  county  in  which  he  lived;  he  accepted,  bought 
a  compass  and  chain,  "  studied  Flint  and  Gi-bson  a  little  [Bartlett],  and  went  at 
it.11  Calhoun  was  an  educated  and  courteous  gentleman,  with  some  knowledge 
of  human  nature,  and  recognized  the  sterling  qualities  of  his  assistant.  Calhoun 
was  an  accurate  engineer,  and  was  employed  to  plot  and  lay  out  new  towns  and 
villages.  Lincoln,  therefore,  learned  much,  and  the  man  who  has  been  called  the 
savior  of  his  country  became,  as  his  predecessor,  the  father  of  his  country, 
George  Washington,  had  been,  a  good  surveyor.  He  began  to  earn  small  amounts 
of  money,  was  very  frugal,  but  was  still  in  financial  straits,  with  his  indebted 
ness  hanging  over  him.  He  was,  however,  gradually  reducing  the  debt.  The 
people  of  the  country  should  know  what  hardships  and  discouragements  he 
endured.  t%  In  1834,"  says  Judge  Arnold,  "  an  impatient  creditor  seized  his  horse, 
saddle,  bridle  and  surveying  instruments,  and  sold  them  under  execution."  A 


LINCOLN'S   SURVEYING   INSTRUMENTS. 


friend  in  need — let  us  honor  his  name — Bowling  Greene, was  the  bidder,  and  restored 
to  Lincoln  his  property,  waiting  Lincoln's  convenience  for  payment.  Lincoln 
appreciated  the  kindness  so  much  that  at  Mr.  Greene's  grave,  in  the  year  1842, 
he  tried  in  vain  to  deliver  a  funeral  oration  over  his  remains.  Judge  Arnold 
says:  "  When  he  rose  to  speak  his  voice  was  choked  with  emotion." 

It  was  Lincoln's  ambition  to  become  a  lawyer  as  well  as  a  politician  and  a 
statesman.  He  had  been  reading  Blackstone  for  some  time,  and  was  afterward 
given  the  range  of  the  library  of  John  T.  Stuart,  one  of  his  old  comrades  in  the 
Black  Hawk  war.  Stuart  lived  in  Springfield,  and  Lincoln  would  walk  from 
New  Salem,  fourteen  miles  distant,  to  Springfield  to  exchange  one  book  for 
another,  and  would  often  master  thirty  or  forty  pages  of  the  new  book  on  his 
way  home.  At  New  Salem  he  would  sit  under  a  tree,  in  warm  weather,  and 
ubirefooted,"  while  reading  his  books.  Occasionally  he  would  pursue  his  read 
ing  of  Blackstone  or  Chitty  on  the  top  of  a  wood-pile.  Every  interval  of  leisure 
would  be  promptly  and  fully  utilized,  if  it  were  no  more  than  five  minutes  in 
duration.  There  was  not  much  time  at  this  period  for  exercising  4iis  story 
telling  propensities. 


70 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Lincoln  soon  after  bought  an  old  form-book,  and  acquired  enough  knowledge 
and  proficiency  to  enable  him  to  udraw  up  deeds,  contracts  and  mortgages,  and 
began  to  figure  as  a  pettifogger  before  the  justice  of  the  peace,"  seldom  making 
any  charge  for  his  services.  He  read  other  than  law-books,  studying  natural 
philosophy  and  other  scientific  branches.  He  had  also  read  historical  booksr 
having  mastered  Rollin  and  Gibbon.  Novels  of  a  fair  sort  also  attracted  his 
attention.  It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  at  this  period  he  read  newspapers 
thoroughly.  The  Sangamon  Journal,  the  Louisville  Journal,  the  St.  Louis 
Republican,  and  the  old  Cincinnati  Gazette,  then  as  now,  with  its  u  Commercial " 
attachment,  a  very  strong  paper,  arid  at  that  time  edited  by  the  famous  and 
popular  "Charley"  Hammond,  were  perused  regularly,  until  he  knew  all  that  wa& 
in  them.  4 

Story-telling,  however,  was  not  entirely  neglected.  His  reading  embraced  a 
wide  range  of  funny  sketches,  all  of  which  he  learned  by  rote,  thus  adding  to  his 

personal  store.  He  improved 
as  a  reciter  and  retailer  of 
the  stories  he  had  read  and 
heard,  and  as  the  reciter  of 
tales  of  his  own  inventionT 
and  he  had  ready  and  eager 
auditors.  Judge  Herndon 
relates  that  as  a  mimic  Lin 
coln  was  unequaled.  An  old 
neighbor  said:  " His  laugh 
was  striking.  Such  awk 
ward  gestures  belonged  to 
no  other  man.  They  at 
tracted  universal  attention, 
from  the  old  and  sedate  down 
to  the  school-boy.  Then 
in  a  few  moments  he  was 
as  calm  and  thoughtful  as  a 

judge  on  the  bench,  and  as  ready  to  give  advice  on  the  most  important  matters; 
fun  and  gravity  grew  on  him  alike."  - 

Lincoln  at  this  time  fell  very  deeply  in  love  with  a  beautiful  young  girl- 
Ann  Rutledge.  a  daughter  of  James  Rutledge,  one  of  the  founders  of  New  Salemr 
and  hiving  the  blo^xl  of  a  Revolutionary  soldier  in  his  veins.  She  is  described  as 
''being  a  blonde,  with  golden  hair,  lips  as  red  as  a  cherry,  a  cheek  like  a  wild 
rose,  with  blue  eyes,  and  as  sweet  and  gentle  in  manners  and  temper  as  attractive 
in  person."  This  young  lady  was  all  the  more  interesting  for  having  suffered 
already  in  a  love  affair,  a  long  account  of  which  is  given  by  Lincoln's  old  partner, 
Herndon.  She  and  a  worthy  young  man — John  McNeil,  who  had  not 
before  come  to  New  Salem  from  an  eastern  state — became  very  deeply 
attached  to  each  other.  McNeil's  partner  in  a  store,  Samuel  Hill,  also  became 


BOWLING  GREENE'S   HOUSE. 

This  cabin  was  located  half  a  mile  north  of  New  Salem, 
where  it  still  stands,  used  for  an  old  stable.  Lincoln 
began  studying  law  while  a  boarder  in  this  cabin.  He  was 
stretched  out  on  the  floor  reading  when  he  first  met 
"  Dick  "  Yates,  then  a  college  student  home  on  a  vacation, 
and  who  afterward  became  the  great  war  governor. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


71 


attached  to  the  young  beauty,  but  his  suit  was  not  favorably  regarded,  and  he 
good-naturedly  retired  from  the  contest,  having  been  rejected.  McNeil  prospered, 
and  finally  decided  to  return  to  New  York  state  and  bring  his  parents  to  New 
Salem.  He  then  told  Ann,  to  whom  he  had  become  engaged,  that  his  real  name 
was  McNamar,  and  that  he  had  changed  it  so  that  his  relatives  would  not  dis 
cover  him  until  he  had  made  enough  money  to  support  them.  This  caused  a 
change  in  the  sentiment  at  New  Salem,  and  Ann's  friends  tried  to  convince  her 
that  McNeil  hal  committed  a  crime  in  his  earlier  days  and  had  deserted  her.  The 
women  of  the  community  did  much  to  destroy  her  faith  in  her  lover. 

At  last  Ann  was  convinced,  at  least  in  part,  and  at  this  point  uthe  ungainly 
Lincoln"  became  her  suitor,  and  was  evidently  smitten  through  and  through. 
The  Rutledges  and  all  the  people  of  New  Salem  were  his  friends  and  wished  him 
success.  The  regard  was  finally  found  to  be  mutual,  and  Lincoln  frnnd  courage 
to  propose,  but  Ann  asked  him  to 
wait  until  she  had  written  to  her  old 
lover,  asking  him  to  release  her.  The 
answer  was  one  of  those  letters  that 
never  came.  Ann  at  last  consented 
to  become  Lincoln's  wife.  To  one 
of  her  brothers  she  said  that*when 
Lincoln's  studies  were  completed  she 
was  to  marry  him.  But  her  per 
plexity  was  not  altogether  removed, 
and  finally  her  health  was  under 
mined  and  she  was  stricken  down 
with  fever.  Her  strength  slowly 
passed  away,  and  it  was  soon  certain 
that  she  must  die.  She  sent  for  her 
lover  to  come  to  her  bedside.  The 
two  were  alone  in  their  supreme 

mutual  sorrow.  The  poor  girl  soon  died,  in  August,  1835.  She  used  to  sing 
very  sweetly  to  her  lover,  and  the  last  song  she  sang  to  him  commenced: 

Vain  man,  thy  fond  pursuits  forbear; 

Repent,  thy  end  is  nigh ; 
Death  at  the  farthest  can't  be  far, 

Oh,  think  before  thou  die  ! 

Lincoln  was  terribly  distressed — almost  heart-broken  and  crazed.  The  death 
of  his  mother  had  given  him  his  greatest  grief  as  a  boy;  the  death  of  his  affianced 
gave  him  the  greatest  grief  of  his  young  manhood.  It  was  his  old  friend  Bowling 
Greene  who  came  to  his  rescue  and  "ministered  to  a  mind  diseased." 

It  is  due  to  McNeil  (or  McNamar)  to  say  that,  after  Ann's  death,  he  returned 
with  parents,  brother  and  sister,  thus  showing  his  good  faith. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  a  year  afterward  Lincoln  began  to  pay  atten 
tion  to  Miss  Mary  S.  Owens,  a  Kentucky  girl,  who  was  making,  in  1836,  a  second 


LINCOLN'S  AX,   USED   \VHILE   AT   NEW   SALEM. 


72 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


visit  to  New  Salem.  She  had  made  some  impression  on  him  when  she  first  came 
to  the  town,  in  1833.  L.  M.  Greene  describes  her  as  follows:  uShe  was  tall  and 
portly,  had  large,  blue  eyes,  and  the  finest  trimmings  I  ever  saw.  She  was  jovial, 
social,  loved  wit  and  humor,  had  a  liberal  education,  and  was  considered  wealthy. 
None  of  the  poets  or  romance-writers  have  ever  given  us  a  picture  of  a  heroine 
so  beautiful  as  a  good  description  of  Miss  Owens  in  1836  would  be."  It  seemed 
that  each  was  attracted  to  the  other,  but  it  became  evident  that  neither  was 


CRAVE   OF    AXNT    RUTLEDGE. 


really  in  love.  One  of  his  letters  to  Miss  Owens  is  a  very  singular  epistle.  It 
is  certainly  not  very  ardent.  He,  after  the  fashion  of  the  lawyer,  presents  the 
matter  very  cautiously,  and  pleads  his  own  cause;  then  presents  her  side  of  the 
case,  advises  her  not  u  to  do  it,"  and  agrees  to  abide  by  her  decision.  Miss 
Owens,  like  other  young  women,  liked  an  ardent  lover,  and  although  she 
respected  Lincoln,  rejected  him.  She  was  afterward  married,  and  became  the 
mother  of  five  children.  Two  sons  served  in  the  Confederate  army. 


CHAPTER   X 

LINCOLN   AS   A    LEGISLATOR   AND   PUBLIC   SPEAKER. 

IN  1834,  Lincoln,  then  twenty-five  years  of  age,  was  again  a  candidate  for  the 
Legislature,  and  was  elected,  receiving  a  larger  number  of  votes  than  any  other 
man  on  either  ticket.  John  T.  Stuart,  his  Black  Hawk  war  comrade,  was  also 
elected.  Lincoln  is  spoken  of  by  Judge  Arnold  as  kt  the  most  popular  man  in 
Sangamon  county."  He  was  now  a  well-informed  man.  It  could  be  safely  said 
of  him  that  he  was  self-educated.  He  knew  much  that  the  current  literature  of 
the  day,  the  classics,  school  text-books  and  newspapers,  contained.  He  was  well 
up  on  all  the  political  questions.  Judge  Arnold  says:  "He  knew  the  Bible  by 
heart.  There  was  not  a  clergyman  to  be  found  so  familiar  with  it  as  he. 
Scarcely  a,  speech  or  paper  prepared  by  him,  from  this  time  to  his  death,  but 
contains  apt  allusions  and  striking  illustrations  from  the  sacred  book.  He  could 
repeat  all  the  poems  of  Burns,  and  was  familiar  with  Shakspere.  In  arithmetic, 
surveying  and  the  rudiments  of  other  branches  of  mathematics  he  was  perfectly 
at  home.  He  had  mastered  Blackstone,  Kent  and  the  elementary  law-books. 
Hi  had  considerable  knowledge  of  physics  and  mechanics.  He  showed  how  much 
better  it  is  to  know  thoroughly  a  few  books  than  to  know  many  superficially. 
Such  had  been  his  education.  He  was  manly,  just,  gentle,  truthful  and  honest. 
In  conduct,  kind  and  generous;  so  modest,  so  considerate  of  others,  so  unselfish, 
that  everyone  liked  him  and  wished  him  success.  True,  he  was  homely,  awk 
ward  and  diffident,  but  he  was.  in  fact,  strictly  a  gentleman."  A  remarkable 
young  man,  this,  at  twenty-five.  The  writer  of  the  foregoing  was  a  careful 
man,  who  had  the  habit  of  weighing  his  words  and  of  speaking  with  judicial 
fairness. 

Lincoln  was  always  a  student,  and  at  all  times  made  the  best  possible  uee  of 
his  opportunities,  which  from  this  time  wrere  constantly  increasing.  He 
remained,  as  a  matter  of  course,  at  Vandalia.  the  state  capital,  during  his  first 
term  in  the  Legislature,  and  there  met  a  cultivated  class  of  men  and  women. 
He  had  here,  also,  a  wider  range  of  literature  within  his  reach.  During  this  first 
year  of  his  experience  as  a  legislator  he  listened  attentively,  thought  much,  but 
said  little,  and  was  a  close  student  of  public  affairs. 

It  was  in  Lincoln's  canvass  for  a  second  term,  in  1836,  that  he  began  to  be 
famous  throughout  a  large  portion  of  the  state.  He  first  spoke  at  Springfield 

73 


74 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


during  this  campaign.  A  meeting  was  advertised  to  be  held  in  the  court-house, 
at  which  candidates  of  opposing  parties  were  to  speak.  This  gave  men  of  spirit 
and  capacity  a  fine  opportunity  to  show  the  stuff  of  which  they  were  made. 
George  Forquer  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens;  he  had  been  a  Whig, 
but  became  a  Democrat,  possibly  for  the  reason  that  by  means  of  the  change  he 
secured  the  position  of  government  land  register,  from  President  Andrew  Jack 
son.  He  had  the  largest  and  finest  house  in  the  city,  and  there  was  a  new  and 
striking  appendage  to  it,  called  a  lightning-rod!  The  meeting  was  very  large. 

Seven  Whig  and  seven  Dem 
ocratic  candidates  spoke,  and 
Lincoln  closed  the  discussion. 
A  Kentuckian  (Joshua  F. 
Speed),  who  had  heard  Henry 
Clay  and  other  distinguished 
Kentucky  orators,  stood  near 
Lincoln,  and  states  that  he 
"never  heard  a  more  effective 
speaker;  ...  the  crowd 
seemed  to  be  swayed  by 
him  as  he  pleased."  What 
occurred  during  the  closing 
portion  of  this  meeting  must 
be  given  in  full,  from  Judge 
Arnold's  book: 

u  Forquer,  although  not  a 
candidate,  then  asked  to  be 
heard  for  the  Democrats,  in 
reply  to  Lincoln.  He  was  a 
good  speaker,  and  well  known 
throughout  the  county.  His 
special  task  that  day  was  to 
attack  and  ridicule  the  young 
countryman  from  Salem. 
Turning  to  Lincoln,  who 
stood  within  a  few  feet  of 
him,  he  said:  'This  young  man  must  be  taken  down,  and  I  am  truly  sorry  that 
the  task  devolves  upon  me.'  He  then  proceeded,  in  a  very  overbearing  way,  and 
with  an  assumption  of  great  superiority,  to  attack  Lincoln  and  his  speech.  He 
was  fluent  and  ready  with  the  rough  sarcasm  of  the  stump,  and  he  went  on  to 
ridicule  the  person,  dress  and  arguments  of  Lincoln  with  so  much  success  that 
Lincoln's  friends  feared  that  he  would  he  embarrassed  and  overthrown." 

The  Clary's  Grove  boys  were  present,  and  were  restrained  witn  difficulty  from 
"getting  up  a  fight"  in  behalf  of  their  favorite,  they  and  all  his  friends  feeling 
that  the  attack  was  ungenerous  and  unmanly. 


WILLIAM   LLOYD  GARRISON. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


75 


; 


We  quote  the  sequel,  as  follows: 

"Lincoln,  however,  stood  calm,  but  his  flashing  eye  and  pale  cheek  indicated 
his  indignation.  As  soon  as  Forquer  had  closed,  he  took  the  stand,  and  first 
answered  his  opponent's  arguments  fully  and  triumphantly.  So  impressive  were 
his  words  and  manner  that  a  hearer  [Joshua  F.  Speed]  believes  that  he  can 
remember  to  this  day  and  repeat  some  of  the  expressions.  Among  other  things 
he  said:  'The  gentleman  commenced  his  speech  by  saying  that  "this  young 
man,"  alluding  to  me,  "must  be  taken  down."  I  am  not  so  young  in  years  as  I 
am  in  the  tricks  and  the 
trades  of  a  politician,  but,' 
said  he,  pointing  to  Forquer, 
Alive  long  or  die  young,  I 
would  rather  die  now  than, 
like  the  gentleman,  change 
my  politics,  and  with  the 
change  receive  an  office  worth 
three  thousand  dollars  a  year, 
and  then,1  continued  he,  '  feel 
obliged  to  erect  a  lightning- 
rod  over  my  house,  to  protect 
a  guilty  conscience  from  an 
offended  God!'" 

Forquer  was  silenced  and 
squelched. 

Lincoln  had  several  other 
encounters  with  distinguished 
Democrats,  with  similar  re 
sults.  "  In  this  campaign," 
says  Judge  Arnold,  "the  rep 
utation  of  Lincoln  as  a 
speaker  was  established,  and 
ever  afterward  he  was  recog 
nized  as  one  of  the  great 
orators  of  the  state." 

Sangamon  county  had  at 

this  session  two  senators  and  seven  members  of  the  house,  each  one  over  six  feet 
in  height;  they  were  called  "the  long  nine."  One  of  his  Sangamon-associates 
was  Edward  D.  Baker,  afterward  a  representative  in  Congress,  then  a  member  of 
the  United  States  Senate,  then  a  general  in  the  field,  dying  at  the  engagement  of 
Ball's  Bluff.  In  the  house  was  a  young  man  from  Vermont,  Stephen  Arnold 
Douglas,  whom  he  first  met  at  this  period.  There  were  also  in  the  house 
James  Shields,  John  A.  Logan,  John  A.  McClernand  and  others  who  afterward 
became  famous.  It  should  be  stated  here  that  in  this  canvass,  as  in  that  previous 
to  it,  Lincoln  received  the  highest  vote  of  any  man  on  the  ticket.  He  was  a 


JAMES  SHIELDS. 


76 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


leader  in  the  movement  which  resulted  in  removing  the  capital  of  the  state 
from  Vandalia  to  Springfield.  \ 

It  was  at  this  period  that  he  made  the  important  and  prophetic  declaration  of 
principles,  "  I  go  for  all  sharing  the  privileges  of  the  government  who  assist  in 
bearing  its  burdens;  consequently,  I  go  for  admitting  all  whites  to  the  right  of 
suffrage  who  pay  taxes  or  bear  arms,  by  no  means  excluding  females.1'  This  was 
in  1836.  Now,  sixty  years  afterward:  in  many  states  women  are  allowed  to  vote. 
In  1836-7  Lincoln  supported  a  ine.^ure  fur  opening  a  great  ship-carfal  from  Lake 

Michigan,  at  Chicago,  to  the 
Illinois  river.  Now,  sixty 
years  later,  such  a  canal  is 
very  near  completion. 

At  this  time  Lincoln  be 
gan  to  wield  his  powerful 
personal  and  political  influ 
ence  against  the  aggressions 
of  slavery.  In  1820,  as  tie 
result  of  an  agreement  be 
tween  parties  in  Congress. 
Missouri  was  admitted  to  the 
Union  without  restriction  as 
to  slavery,  but  the  act  pro 
hibited  slavery  thereafter, 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific,  in  the  territory  north 
of  36°  30/  north  latitude. 
This  agreement  was  called 
the  Missouri  Compromise,  and 
it  was  part  of  a  series  of 
measures  which  created  a  sort 
of  temporary  fool's  paradise 
called  "an  era  of  good  feeling." 
It  was  evanescent;  the  con 
troversy  concerning  slavery 
was  not  settled,  but,  on  the 

other  hand,  increased  in  fury.  Public  sentiment  at  this  time  in  Illinois  was 
largely  pro-slavery.  The  Legislature  was  nearly  unanimous,  as  the  result  showed, 
in  favor  of  slavery,  and  resolutions  violently  denouncing  "  abolitionists"  and  all 
persons  who  desired  to  abolish  slavery  and  made  efforts  in  that  direction,  or  to 
restrict  slavery,  were  whirled  through  the  Legislature  by  an  overwhelming  vote. 
At  this  time  there  was  a  "black  code,"  by  which  it  was  attempted  to  legalize 
severity  and  cruelty  to  negroes.  Abraham  Lincoln,  thinking  himself  to  be 
alone,  stood  up  against  the  resolutions,  but  finally  found  one  other  member 
who  had  sufficient  principle  and  nerve  to  stand  with  him.  This  seemed  to  be  n, 


JOHN    A. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


77 


turning-point  in  Abraham  Lincoln's  career.  His  conduct  on  this  occasion  was 
courageous  and  manly.  Lincoln  and  Dan  Stone,  representatives  from  Sangamon 
county,  made  this  protest,  dated  March  3,  1837,  taken  from  the  House  Journal 
of  the  Illinois  Legislature,  1836-37;  pp.  817,  818: 

uThe  following   protest  was  presented  to  the   House,  which  was  read  and 
ordered  to  be  spread  on  the  journals,  to  wit: 

u  Resolutions  upon  the  subject  of  domestic  slavery  having  passed  both  branches 
of  the  General  Assembly  at  its  present  session,  the  undersigned  have  protested 
against  the  passage  of  the 
same. 

kt  They  believe  that  the  in 
stitution  of  slavery  is  founded 
on  both  injustice  and  bad  pol 
icy,  but  that  the  promulga 
tion  of  abolition  doctrine 
tends  rather  to  increase  than 
to  abate  its  evils. 

•'They  believe  that  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States 
has  no  power,  under  the  Con 
stitution,  to  interfere  with 
the  institution  of  slavery  in 
the  different  states. 

"They  believe  that  the 
Congress  of  the  United 
States  has  the  power,  under 
the  Constitution,  to  abolish 
slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  but  that  that  pow 
er  ought  not  to  be  exercised, 
unless  at  the  request  of  the 
people  of  the  District." 

This  utterance  was  con 
servative,  and  it  represented 
the  views  of  a  great  many 

men  who  were  opposed  to  slavery,  and  especially  to  its  extension,  but,  conserva 
tive  and  liberal  as  it  was,  it  required  great  courage  and  stamina  to  present  such 
a  paper,  under  such  circumstances,  in  a  legislature  whose  members  were  moved  by 
partizan  bias  and  prejudice,  and  not  by  reason. 

Lincoln  was  still  a  citizen  of  New  Salem,  and  was  also  still  a  poor  man.  His 
salary  as  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  beyond  what  was  required  to  meet  his 
board  bills,  was  used  to  decrease  his  indebtedness.  On  his  way  home  he  had  one 
of  his  periods  of  great  depression.  His  associates  in  the  Sangamon  ajid  Morgan 
county  delegations  were  in  high  spirits  over  his  and  their  success  in  getting  the 


WILLIAM    BUTLER. 


78 


ABRAHAM:  LINCOLN. 


capital  removed  to  Springfield.  But  Lincoln,  in  his  own  words,  was  more  con 
cerned  on  the  question  as  to  how  he  should  get  capital  for  himself.  William 
Butler,  a  warm  and  strong  friend,  asked  him  what  he  "intended  to  do  for  a  liv 
ing,"  and  he  replied  that  he  would  like  to  leave  New  Salem,  make  his  home  in 
Springfield  and  study  law.  Butler,  who,  with  the  other  citizens,  appreciated  the 
services  he  had  rendered  to  Sangamon  people,  promptly  told  him  that  he  could 
make  his  (Butler's)  house  his  home  as  long  as  he  pleased.  He  afterward 
accepted  the  hospitality,  paying  little  attention  to  board  bills. 


STATE-HOUSE,   SPRINGFIELD,   ILLINOIS. 

At  Springfield  he  was  honored  by  a  reception  and  a  banquet,  at  which  the 
following  sentiment  was  given  and  unanimously  and  heartily  approved:  uHe 
[Lincoln]  has  fulfilled  the  expectation  of  his  friends  and  disappointed  the  hopes 
of  his  enemies."  Of  these,  however,  he  had  very  few. 

In  1837,  Lincoln  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age.  He  had  come  in  contact 
with  the  ablest  men  of  the  state,  and  was  conscious  of  his  growing  power  and 
influence.  It  is  true  that  he  wished  to  be  a  lawyer,  but  lawyers  abounded  then 
as  now,  and,  so  far  as  he  knew,  the  custom  that  might  come  to  him  would  be  a 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN". 


79 


plant  of  slow  growth.  He  had  made  the  acquaintance  and,  very  naturally,  gained 
the  friendship  of  Joshua  Speed,  who  was  a  merchant,  and  kept  what  was  called  a 
"general  store."  Lincoln  had  brought  his  satchel,  containing  wearing-apparel 
and  a  few  books,  from  New  Salem,  and  threw  it  on  the  counter  of  Speed's  store, 
in  Springfield.  Judge  Herndon  records  the  following  colloquy  that  ensued: 

Said  Lincoln,  UI  want  to  get  a  room,  and  must  have  a  bedstead  and  some 
bedding.  How  much  will  I  have  to  pay?" 

Mr.  Speed  took  up  his  slate  and  jotted  down  the  items — the  cost  of  the  bed 
stead,  bedtick,  sheets,  blankets,  wash-basin  and  towels.  u  Seventeen  dollars," 
said  the  storekeeper. 


LINCOLN'S   LAW-OFFICE   AT  THE  TIME  OF   HIS  NOMINATION  FOR  PRESIDENT. 

UI  have  no  doubt  it  is  cheap,"  replied  Lincoln,  ubut  I  haven't  the  money  to 
pay  for  the  articles.  If  you  could  trust  me  until  Christmas,  and  if  I  succeed  in 
my  experiment  of  being  a  lawyer,  I  will  pay  you  then;  if  I  fail,  probably  I  shall 
never  be  able  to  pay  you." 

Mr.  Speed  had  never  seen  him  so  dejected,  but  instantly  solved  the  problem. 

"I  can  fix  things  better  than  that,'1  said  he.  "I  have  a  large  room  and  a 
double  bed  up-stairs,  and  you  are  welcome  to  occupy  the  room  and  share  the  bed 
with  me." 

Taking  his  entire  possessions,  a  satchel,  or  "saddle-bags,"  and  two  law-books, 
he  took  the  bag  and  books  up-stairs,  and  declared  to  Speed,  with  a  radiant  face, 
"I'm  moved." 


80  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

His  old  friend  and  compatriot,  John  T.  Stuart,  solved  another  problem  for 
him  by  offering  him  a  partnership,  and  the  firm  of  Stuart  &  Lincoln  was  formed. 

In  1838,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  for  the  third  time  elected  to  the  Legislature,  and 
received  the  Whig  nomination  for  the  speakership,  being  defeated  by  one  vote. 

In  1840,  he  was  returned  to  the  Legislature  for  the  fourth  time.  This  was  a 
period  of  great  excitement  throughout  the  country.  An  attempt  had  been  made 
in  1828  to  procure  the  passage  of  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  which 
would  make  Illinois  a  slave  state.  Free  discussion  of  the  slavery  question  was 
interfered  with  by  mobs  in  many  cities  of  the  North,  noticeably  and  very 
strangely  in  Boston.  But  public  sentiment  was  influenced  by  merchants  who 
sold  goods  in  large  quantities  to  southern  customers.  An  attempt,  happily 
futile,  was  made  to  hang  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  editor  of  The  Liberator,  at 
Boston,  for  his  bold  denunciations  of  slavery.  But  now  the  matter  came  nearer 
home. 

Rev.  Elijah  P.  Lovejoy,  a  plain-spoken,  God-fearing  man,  of  standing  and 
ability,  who  was  publishing  a  weekly  religious  paper  at  St.  Louis,  denounced  the 
killing  of  a  negro,  who  had,  it  is  true,  committed  a  horrible  crime,  but  who  had 
not  had  the  benefit  of  a  trial.  Unfortunately,  this  sort  of  thing  has  not  entirely 
passed  away,  North  or  South.  Lovejoy  showed  how  far  he  was  in  advance  of  his 
time,  and  how  manly  and 'true-hearted  he  was  by  denouncing,  in  strong  terms, 
but  in  language  that  was  true  and  fitting,  the  crime  that  had  been  committed, 
and  a  mob  at  once  organized,  entered  his  place,  destroyed  his  types  and  threw 
his  press  into  the  river.  Lovejoy  then  removed  to  Alton,  in  Illinois,  a  free  stale, 
at  least  by  law  and  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution,  and  naturally  hoped  to  be 
unmolested,  but  on  receipt  of  press  and  types  from  Cincinnati,  they  were  also 
destroyed  by  a  mob.  Lovejoy  was  of  the  stuff  of  which  heroes  were  made.  He 
therefore  ordered  another  press  and  outfit  of  types.  "It  is  our  purpose,11 
announced  Lovejoy  in  behalf  of  his  friends,  to  the  mayor  and  other  citizens,  "to 
protect  our  property,11  and  as  he  and  his  friends  assembled  with  guns  in  hand,  in 
the  evening,  the  mayor  nobly  said  to  him,  "You  are  acting  in  accordance  with 
the  law."  The  mob  came,  as  expected,  and  fired  into  the  building,  and  the  firing 
was  returned  by  Lovejoy^  friends,  and  one  of  the  men  who  made  the  assault  was 
killed  and  another  wounded.  An  attempt  was  then  made  to  ascend  to  the  top  of 
the  building  and  burn  the  roof.  Lovejoy  and  others  bravely  stepped  out  on  the 
street,  and  were  about  to  fire  at  those  on  the  ladder,  when  he  was  himself  shot 
and  mortally  wounded.  Then  a-nd  there  fell  and  died  one  of  the  greatest  and 
bravest  of  America's  martyrs  to  the  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press. 

At  Cincinnati,  Gamaliel  Bailey.  Jr..  the  publisher  of  an  anti-slavery  paper- — 
a  courteous  gentleman,  a  fair  and  good-tempered  controversialist,  but  as  firm  as 
a  rock  in  behalf  of  great  principles — was  mobbed  in  much  the  same  way,  but 
without  the  loss  of  his  life.  Afterward  he  removed  to  Washington,  and  com 
menced  the  publication  of  The  National  Era.  in  which,  in  1850,  appeared  the 
several  chapters  of  that  immortal  book,  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  from  the  pen  of 
Harriet  Beecher  Stowe. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


81 


The  murder  of  Elijah  P.  Lovejoy  did  not  frighten  the  opponents  of  slavery. 
Throughout  the  North  fiery  and  righteous  indignation  moved  in  great  waves, 
from  city  to  city,  and  from  commonwealth  to  commonwealth.  The  name  of 
Lovejoy,  a  martyr  to  liberty,  as  well  as  to  the  freedom  of  the  press,  was  honored 
and  glorified.  The  mob  that  struck  down  Lovejoy  had  aimed  an  effective  blow 
at  the  foundation  of  their  own  pet  but  ungodly  "  peculiar  institution."  From 
the  very  commencement  of  anti-slavery  agitation  no  one  event  had  so  fired  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  and  to  so  great  an  extent  made  the  institution  of  slavery 
universally  odious,  for  the 
time,  throughout  the  North, 
as  this  assassination  of  Love- 
joy.  Mass-meetings  were  held 
in  hundreds  of  towns,  and 
orators,  with  a  theme  that 
aroused  them  to  the  depths 
of  their  natures,  spoke  with 
unwonted  eloquence  and  with 
electric  effect. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  say,  if 
we  had  no  histories  at  all  of 
the  times,  what  Abraham 
Lincoln  thought  of  the  mur 
der  of  the  St.  Louis  negro  and 
of  this  murderous  and  dam 
nable  assault  on  Lovejoy.  He 
was  a  man  who  loved  justice 
and  loved  liberty.  This  was 
in  1838.  when  Lincoln  was 
twenty-nine  years  old.  This 
was  his  first  great  opportu 
nity.  The  young  men  of 
Sprin  gfield  had  already 
formed  a  lyceum  for  the  dis 
cussion  of  public  problems 
— and  that  relating  to  the 
aggressions  of  human  slavery,  and  the  crimes  committed  in  its  name,  was  a  problem 
that  was  actually  blazing  in  all  portions  of  the  northern  states.  But  Alton  was 
near  Springfield.  Lincoln  and  his  fellow-townsmen  had  often  been  there.  The 
discussions  of  the  lyceum  were  held  in  Mr.  Speed's  store,  in  the  light  and  heat 
of  one  of  the  already  old-fashioned  large  fireplaces,  with  the  hickory  back-log, 
and  those  who  constituted  the  audience  sat  on  boxes,  nail-kegs,  etc. 

It  seems  to  be  a  remarkable  fact  that  two  young  men  who  were  nfterward 
among  America's  greatest  orators  and  statesmen— certainly  in  the  time  in  which 
they  lived — should  be  members  of  and  prominent  debaters  in  this  lyceum;  and  it 


HARRIET  BEECHER  STO\VE. 


82 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


seems  a  still  more  remarkable  fact  that  one  of  these,  Douglas,  from  Vermont, 
should  take  the  side  of  the  pro-slavery  element,  and  that  the  native  Kentuckian, 
Lincoln,  should  side  with  the  enemies  of  slavery.  There  were  no  two  brighter 
men  of  their  age  in  the  country  at  this  time.  Each  acknowledged  the  other  to 
be  a  foeman  worthy  of  his  steel.  Differing  politically,  they  were  warm  personal 
friends.  Both  had  been  in  the  Illinois  Legislature  together,  and  when  the  St. 
Louis  and  Alton  murders  came  to  be  the  topic  of  discussion,  it  proved  to  be  one 
that  brought  out  their  best  work.  Speed's  store  soon  was  too  small  to  accommo 
date  the  gatherings,  and  they  were  held  in  the  First  Presbyterian  church. 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   SPRINGFIELD,   ILLINOIS. 

The  discussions  at  Springfield,  reported  to  some  extent  in  the  Sangamon 
Journal,  had  been  heard  of  at  Alton.  The  fame  of  Lincoln  as  a  public  speaker 
had  reached  that  town  long  before,  and  now  Lincoln  was  invited  to  Alton  to 
deliver  an  address;  and  if  Lincoln  had  not  delivered  in  his  subsequent  career  so 
many  utterances  that  have  become  a  part  of  the  written  history  of  his  country, 
this  utterance,  made  at  Alton,  would  have  been  considered,  at  this  day  and  hence 
forth,  as  wonderfully  significant.  The  title  of  his  address  was,  u  The  Perpet 
uation  of  Our  Political  Institutions."  The  very  title  was  prophetic,  as  delivered 
over  twenty  years  before  the  time  when  he  stood  up  as  the  chief  of  thos'e  Amer- 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


83 


leans  who  were  the  friends  of  the  country's  unity  and  integrity,  on  which  prin 
ciples  were  based  its  perpetuity.  Let  us  read  very  carefully  some  portions  of  this 
address: 

uln  the  great  journal  of  things  happening  under  the  sun,  the  American 
people  find  our  account  running  under  date  of  the  nineteenth  century  of  the 
Christian  era.  We  find  ourselves  in  peaceful  possession  of  ihe  fairest  portion 
of  the  earth  as  regards  extent  of  territory,  fertility  of  soil  and  salubrity  of 
climate.  We  find  ourselves  under  the  government  of  a  system  of  political  insti 
tutions  conducing  more 
essentially  to  the  ends 
of  civil  and  religious 
liberty  than  any  of 
which  the  history  of 
former  times  tells  us. 
We  find  ourselves  the 
legal  inheritors  of  these 
fundamental  blessings. 
We  toiled  not  in  the 
acquirement  or  the  es 
tablishment  of  them; 
they  are  a  legacy  be 
queathed  to  us  by  a 
once  hardy,  brave  and 
patriotic,  but  now 
lamented  and  departed, 
race  of  ancestors. 

"Theirs  was  the 
task  (and  nobly  they 
performed  it)  to  pos 
sess  themselves,  and 
through  themselves  us, 
of  this  goodly  land,  and 
to  rear  upon  its  hills 
and  in  its  valleys  a  polit 
ical  edifice  of  liberty 
and  equal  rights;  'tis 

ours  only  to  transmit  these,  the  former  unprofaned  by  the  foot  of  the  invader, 
the  latter  undecayed  by  the  lapse  of  time.  This  our  duty  to  ourselves  and  to  our 
posterity,  and  love  for  our  species  in  general,  imperatively  require  us  to  perform. 

u  How,  then,  shall  we  perform  it?  At  what  point  shall  we  expect  the  approach 
of  danger?  By  what  means  shall  we  fortify  against  it?  Shall  we  expect  some 
transatlantic  military  giant  to  step  across  the  ocean  and  crush  us  at  a  blow? 
Never!  All  the  armies  of  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa  combined,  with  alt  the  treas 
ure  of  the  earth  (our  own  excepted)  in  their  military  chest,  with  a  Bonaparte 


HEX  BY   CLAY. 


84  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

for  a  commander,  could  not,  by  force,  take  a  drink  from  the  Ohio,  or  make  a 
track  on  the  Blue  Ridge  in  a  trial  of  a  thousand  years. 

"At  what  point,  then,  is  the  approach  of  danger  to  be  expected?  I  answer, 
if  it  ever  reaches  us,  it  must  spring  up  among  us.  It  cannot  come  from  abroad. 
If  destruction  be  our  lot,  we  must  ourselves  be  its  author  and  finisher.  As  a 
nation  of  freemen  we  must  live  through  all  time,  or  die  by  suicide.  .  .  . 

"  There  is  even  now  something  of  ill  omen  among  us.  I  mean  the  increasing 
disregard  for  law  which  pervades  the  country;  the  growing  disposition  to  sub 
stitute  the  wild  and  furious  passions  in  lieu  of  the  sober  judgment  of  courts,  and 
the  worse  than  savage  mobs  for  the  executive  ministers  of  justice.  This  dispo 
sition  is  awfully  fearful  in  any  community,  and  that  it  now  exists  in  ours,  though 
grating  to  our  feelings  to  admit,  it  would  be  a  violation  of  truth  and  an  insult 
to  our  intelligence  to  deny.1' 

This  is  a  most  fitting  prelude.  Here  spoke  a  man  who,  a  great  orator,  was 
already  showing  qualities  of  great  statesmanship,  and  now  speaks  the  orator, 
statesman  and  prophet: 

'•There  is  no  grievance  that  is  a  fit  object  of  redress  by  mob  law.  Many 
great  and  good  men,  sufficiently  qualified  for  any  task  they  should  undertake, 
may  ever  be  found  whose  ambition  would  aspire  to  nothing  but  a  seat  in  Con 
gress,  a  gubernatorial  or  a  presidential  chair;  but  such  belong  not  to  the  family 
of  the  lion  or  the  brood  of  the  eagle.  What!  Think  you  these  places  would 
satisfy  an  Alexander,  a  Cassar  or  a  Napoleon?  Never! 

"Towering  genius  disdains  a  beaten  path.  It  seeks  regions  hitherto  unex 
plored.  It  does  not  add  story  to  story  upon  the  monuments  of  fame  erected  to 
the  memory  of  others.  It  denies  that  it  is  glory  enough  to  serve  under  any 
chief.  It  scorns  to  tread  in  the  footsteps  of  any  predecessor,  however  illustrious. 
It  thirsts  and  burns  for  distinction,  and,  if  possible,  will  have  it,  whether  at  the 
expense  of  emancipating  slaves  or  enslaving  free  men.  Is  it  unreasonable,  then, 
to  expect  that  some  man  possessed  with  the  loftiest-  genius,  coupled  with  ambi 
tion  sufficient  to  push  it  to  its  utmost  stretch,  will  at  some  time  spring  up 
among  us?  And  when  such  an  one  does,  it  will  require  the  people  to  be  united, 
attached  to  the  government  and  laws,  and  generally  intelligent,  to  successfully 
frustrate  the  design. 

"Distinction  will  be  his  paramount  object,  and  although  he  would  as  will 
ingly,  perhaps  more  so,  acquire  it  by  doing  good  as  harm,  yet  that  opportunity 
being  passed,  and  nothing  left  to  be  done  in  the  way  of  building  up,  he  would 
sit  down  baldly  to  the  task  of  pulling  down.  Here,  then,  is  a  probable  case, 
highly  dangerous,  and  such  a  one  as  could  not  have  well  existed  heretofore." 

Alluding  to  our  Revolutionary  ancestors,  Mr.  Lincoln  says: 

"  In  history  we  hope  they  will  be  read  of,  and  recounted,  so  long  as  the  Bible 
shall  be  read.  But  even  granting  that  they  will,  their  influence  cannot  be  what 
it  heretofore  has  been.  Even  then  they  cannot  be  so  universally  known,  nor  so 
vividly  felt,  as  they  were  by  the  generation  just  gone  to  rest.  At  the  close  of 
that  struggle  nearly  every  adult  male  had  been  a  participator  in  some  of  its 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


85 


scenes.  The  consequence  was  that  of  those  scenes,  in  the  form  of  a  husband,  a 
father,  a  son  or  a  brother,  a  living  history  was  to  be  found  in  every  family — a 
history  bearing  the  indubitable  testimonies  to  its  own  authenticity,  in  the  limbs 
mangled,  in  the  scars  of  wounds  received  in  the  midst  of  the  very  scenes  related; 
a  history,  too,  that  could  be  read  and  understood  alike  by  all.  the  wise  and  the 
ignorant,  the  learned  and  the  unlearned.  But  those  histories  are  gone.  They 
can  be  read  no  more  forever.  They  were  a  fortress  of  strength;  but  what  the 
invading  foemen  could  never  do,  the  silent  artillery  of  time  has  done — the  level 
ing  of  its  walls.  They  are  gone.  They  were  a  forest  of  giant  oaks;  but  the. 
resistless  hurricane  has  swept  over  them,  and  left  only  here  and-  there  a  lonely 


PARTICIPANTS  WHO   FORMED   A    LIVING   HISTORY. 

trunk,  despoiled  of  its  verdure,  shorn  of  ite  foliage,  unshading  and  unshaded,  to 
murmur  in  a  few  more  gentle  breezes  and  to  combat  with  its  mutilated  limbs  a 
few  more  ruder  storms,  then  to  sink  and  be  no  more.1" 

Herein  is  expressed  reverence  for  law,  a  comprehension  of  the  elements  of  a 
true  and  laudable  ambition  and  the  foresight  of  a  truly  great  man. 

For  several  years  after  the  Black  Hawk  war  Mr.  Lincoln  retained  his  military 
title,  and  was  usually  addressed  as  ki  Captain  Lincoln/'  but  this  in  time  was 
discontinued.  His  first  law  partnership,  extending  from  1837  to  1841,  was  with 
an  officer  with  whom  he  became  acquainted  in  that  war,  Major  John  T.  Stuart, 
who  testifies  that  Lincoln  was  exceedingly  popular  among  the  soldiers,  because 
of  his  excellent  care  of  his  men.  hi?  unfailing  good  nature,  and  his  ability  to  tell 


86  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

more  stories,  and  better  ones,  than  any  man  in  the  service.     His  great  physical 
strength  also  increased  this  popularity. 

It  is  recorded  that  when  Mr.  Lincoln  first  began  to  "  ride  the  circuit,"  as  it 
was  called  in  those  days,  meaning  the  tours  which  prominent  local'  lawyers  were 
accustomed  to  make  along  with  the  circuit  judge,  he  was  too  poor  to  own  a  horse, 
and  was  compelled  to  borrow  from  his  friends.  But  in  due  time  he  became  the 
proprietor  of  a  steed,  which  he  fed  and  groomed  with  his  own  hands,  and  man 
ifested  strong  attachment  for.  On  this  animal  he  would  set  out  from  home  to 
be  gone  for  weeks  together,  with  no  other  b'aggage  than  a  pair  of  saddle-bags 
containing  a  change  of  linen,  and  an  old  cotton  umbrella  for  shelter  from  sun  or 
rain.  After  a  time  he  attained  the  dignity  of  a  one-horse  buggy,  which  he 
generally  used  when  the  weather  was  threatening.  He  was  a  great  favorite 
among  lawyers  and  landlords,  as  with  everybody  else.  Still,  he  was  one  of 
those  gentle,  uncomplaining  men  whom  those  servants  of  the  public  who  keep 
hotels  would  generally  put  off  with  the  most  indifferent  accommodations. 
Another  lawyer,  who  knew  him  well,  says  that  Lincoln  was  never  seated  next 
the  landlord  at  a  crowded  table,  and  never  got  the  best  cut  from  the  .roast. 
Lincoln  once  remarked  to  a  friend  that  he  never  felt  his  own  unworthiness  so 
much  as  when  face  to  face  with  a  hotel  clerk  or  waiter.  He  was  often  obliged, 
in  a  crowded  tavern,  to  share  his  accommodations  for  the  night  with  some  other 
unfortunate.  This  circuit-riding  involved  all  sorts  of  adventures.  Hard  fare  at 
miserable  taverns,  sleeping  on  the  floor  and  fording  streams  were  accepted 
almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  often  turned  into  sources  of  frolic  and  fun. 
In  fording  swollen  streams,  it  was  quite  customary  to  send  Lincoln  forward  as  a 
pioneer.  His  extremely  long  legs  enabled  him,  by  taking  off  his  boots  and 
stockings  and  rolling  up  his  trousers,  to  test  the  depth  of  the  stream,  find  the 
most  shallow  water,  and  thus  pilot  the  party  comfortably  through  the  current. 


CHAPTER  XL 

LINCOLN    AS    A   LAWYER. 

MR.  LINCOLN  was  at  this  time  riding  the  circuit  as  an  attorney.  He  was 
at  all  times  a  most  interesting  person.  He  and  Speed  boarded  with 
William  Butler,  one  of  his  stanchest  friends,  and  afterward'  treasurer  of  the 
state  of  Illinois.  It  is  related  that  on  one  occasion  Lincoln,  Speed  and  John  J. 
Hardin,  with  a  number  of  other  lawyers,  were  on  their  return  from  court  at 
Christiansburg,  when  Lincoln  was  suddenly  missed. 

"Where  is  Lincoln?1'  Mr.  Speed  asked. 

"Oh,"  replied  Mr.  Hardin,  "when  I  saw  him  last  he  had  caught  two  young 
birds,  which  the  wind  had  blown  out  of  their  nest,  and  he  was  hunting  the  nest 
to  put  them  back." 

In  a  short  time  Lincoln  came  up,  having  found  the  riest  and  replaced  the 
young  birds  in  it.  The  party  laughed  at  him,  but  he  said:  UI  could  not  have 
slept  if  I  had  not  restored  those  little  birds  to  their  mother." 

The  United  States  courts  were  held  in  Springfield.  John  McLean,  afterward 
famous  as  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  was  the  circuit  judge,  and  Lincoln's 
associates  at  the  bar  included  such  men  as  John  T.  Stuart  (his  partner),  Stephen 
T.  Logan,  Edward  D.  Baker,  Ninian  W.  Edwards,  and  Josiah  Limbon,  of  Spring 
field;  Stephen  Arnold  Douglas,  Lyman  Trumbull,  afterward  United  States  sen 
ators;  0.  H.  Browning,  afterward  senator  and  member  of  the  Cabinet;  William 
H.  Bissell,  afterward  governor;  David  Davis,  afterward  governor,  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  senator  and  vice-president  of  the  United  States;  Justin  Butter- 
field,  the  ablest  lawyer  of  Chicago,  and  other  men  afterward  distinguished. 

Court-houses  of  a  pretentious  charatcer  were  built  of  boards,  but  the  greater 
number  were  built  of  logs.  The  furniture  was  very  rude,  as  were  the  manners  of 
the  men  who  frequented  them.  The  peculiarly  American  habit  of  elevating  the 
heels  higher  than  the  head  here  prevailed.  The  lawyers  were  very  free  yet 
good-natured  in  their  attitude  to  each  other  and  their  habits.  They  rode  on 
horseback  from  one  county-seat  to  another,  with  law-books,  extra  shirts,  hair 
brushes,  etc.,  in  their  saddle-bags.  Civilization  had  hardly  achieved  a  shoe-brush 
at  that  period,  in  that  region.  Judge  Arnold  states  that  "sometimes  two  or  three 
lawyers  would  unite  and  travel  in  a  buggy,  and  the  poorer  and  younger  ones 
not  seldom  walked.  But  a  horse  was  not  an  unusual  fee,  and  in  those  days, 

87 


88 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


when  horse-thieves,  as  clients,  were  but  too  common,  it  was  not  long  before  a 
young  man  of  ability  found  himself  well  mounted." 

In  1840,  Lincoln  was  again  elected  to  the  Legislature,  and  at  this  term  he  had 
as  his  colleague  John  Calhoun.  He  was  a0rain  a  candidate  for  speaker. 

Hiving  been  elected  four  times  to  as  many  biennial  terms  of  the  Legislature, 
he  declined  again  to  be  a  candidate. 

In  the  census  of  the  United  States  for  1840  it  was  shown  that  there  were 
slaves  in  Illinois.  Although  it  was  nominally  a  free  state,  they  had  been 
brought  across  the  river  from  Kentucky.  A  case  c^ame  to  Mr.  Lincoln  which 
greatly  excited  his  sympathy.  A  Mr.  Crowell  sold  his  slave  girl  (Nancy)  to  a  Mr. 

Bailey,  who  gave  his  note,  which  was 
not  paid  when  due,  and  Mr.  Crowell 
brought  suit.  Lincoln,  then  thirty- 
two  years  of  age,  gave  his  services 
in  behalf  of  the  slave  woman,  who 
was  the  real  party  to  the  suit.  Prob 
ably  this  was  his  first  case  in  the 
Supreme  Court.  Stephen  T.  Logan, 
afterward  to  become  his  law  partner, 
and  subsequently  a  judge,  was  attor 
ney  on  the  other  side. 

"May  it  please  the  court,"  said 
Lincoln,  uthe  Ordinance  of  1787, 
which  prohibited  slavery  in  the 
Northwest  Territory,  would  give 
Nancy  her  freedom.  The  constitu 
tion  of  the  state  prohibits  the  hold 
ing  of  slaves;  she  cannot,  therefore, 
be  held  as  a  slave;  she  cannot  be  sold 
as  a  slave;  a  note  given  for  the  sale 
of  a  slave  in  a  free  state  can  have  no 
value;  neither  Crowell  nor  Bailey 

can  hold  Nancy — she  is  entitled  to  freedom,  and  Crowell  is  not  entitled  to  the 
money  which  Bailey  promised  to  pay  him." 

The  court  promptly  decided  in  his  favor,  and  that  decision  put  an  end  to  the 
holding  of  slaves  in  Illinois. 

In  one  of  Lincoln's  law-cases  at  this  period  a  colt  was  used  as  a  witness. 
The  dispute  was  between  two  men  as  to  the  ownership  of  the  colt.  Lincoln 
suggested  that  the  mares  should  be  brought  to  the  vicinity  of  the  court-house 
and  that  the  colt  should  be  allowed  to  choose  between  them.  The  colt 
whinnied  for  his  mother;  there  was  an  answering  whinny  from  one  of  the  mares, 
and  that  answered  the  question.  The  court  decided  in  favor  of  Lincoln. 

In  this  year  Mr.  Lincoln  supported  William  Henry  Harrison,  of  North  Bend, 
near  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  for  the  presidency.  General  Harrison  was  born,  as  was 


STEPHEN  A.  DOUGLAS. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


89 


Lincoln,  in  a  log  cabin,  and  having  defeated  the  Indians  in  a  well-fought  battle 
at  Tippecanoe,  Indiana,  he  became  popularly  known  as  "Old  Tippecanoe."  The 
campaign  was  remarkable  and  unprecedented  in  its  popular  demonstration.  Log 
cabins  were  erected  everywhere,  as  they  were  half  a  century  later,  when  Benjamin 
Harrison,  the  general's  grandson,  was  a  candidate  for  the  same  office,  and  was 
elected.  Pine  and  ash  liberty-poles  were  erected  by  the  Whigs,  the  friends  of 
Harrison,  and  hickory  poles  were  put  up  by  the  Demecrats,  who  had  renominated 
Van  Buren.  Canoes  were  made  out  of  logs  and  given  prominent  places  in  the 
processions.  "Tom  Corwin,  the  Wagon-boy,"  was  a  candidate  for  governor  in 
Ohio,  and  Abraham  Lincoln,  who  already  ranked  with  Corwin  as  a  wit  and  orator, 
easily  lead  the  columns  of  the  Whigs  in  Illinois.  He  was  in  demand  everywhere 
for  political  addresses,  and  went  whenever  and  wherever  possible. 

The  charges  against  Van  Buren,  in  this  campaign,  must  be  acknowledged  as 
trivial.  Too  many  gold  spoons  and  too  much  rich  furniture  had  been  purchased 
for  the  White  House. 
The  campaign  poet 
blossomed  out  in  full, 
and  Whig  songs  were 
sung  with  a  will  in 
every  neighborhood. 
Campaign  papers  were 
printed  at  political 
centers  and  distributed 
in  large  numbers.  In 
this  year  Horace 
Greeley,  of  New  York, 
first  became  known  by 
the  remarkable  little 
newspaper,  called  The 
Lor/  C  fib  tit,  which  he 
published,  and  which 

gained  at  once  a  remarkably  large  circulation.  Its  editorials,  written  in  clear, 
concise  and  plain  but  very  forcible  English,  were  the  strongest  journalistic 
utterances  of  that  campaign.  Lincoln  discovered  Greeley,  and  the  two  had 
much  to  do  with  each  other  in  after  years. 

Van  Buren  was  defeated  by  Harrison  by  a  large  vote.  Two  years  afterward 
Van  Buren,  who  was  a  very  affable  and  congenial  gentleman,  met  Lincoln.  Mr. 
Van  Buren  and  Ex-Secretary  of  the  Navy  Paulding,  while  on  a  western  tour, 
stopped  at  Rochester,  near  Springfield,  one  night,  and  Judge  Peck,  a  Democrat, 
Mr.  Lincoln  and  others  called  on  the  ex-president  to  pay  their  respects.  Lincoln 
got  to  telling  his  best  stories  in  the  best  manner,  and  Judge  Peck  said  that  he 
never  spent  a  more  joyous  night.  Mr.  Van  Buren  did  his  part  in  telling  stories, 
giving  incidents  of  the  leading  members  of  the  New  York  bar,  backjto  the  days 
of  Hamilton  and  Burr.  Mr.  Van  Buren  stated  afterward  that  the  only  draw- 


FIRST   COURT-HOUSE  AT   DECATUR,   ILLINOIS. 


90 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN". 


back  to  his  enjoyment  on  this  occasion  was  that  his  sides  were  sore  for  a  week 
thereafter  from  laughing  at  Lincoln's  stories.  While  Lincoln  was  at  the  White 
House,  John,  Martin  Van  Buren's  gifted  and  witty  son,  called  upon  him,  and 
the  president  related  to  him  the  occasion  when  he  had  met  his  father  in  Illinois. 
In  1839,  Lincoln  made  a  courageous  speech  in  the  hall  of  the  Illinois  House  of 
Repres3ntatives.  His  early  friend  John  (J&lhoun,  the  former  surveyor,  was  a 
fellow-member  and  a  Democrat.  A  series  of  debates  was  decided  upon.  Douglas, 
Lambourn  and  others  spoke  for  the  Democrats,  and  Lincoln,  Edward  D.  Baker 

and  Browning  spoke  for  the 
WThigs.  Lambourn  taunted 
the  Whigs  with  the  hopeless 
ness  of  their  struggle,  to 
which  Lincoln  replied: 

"Address  that  argument  to 
cowards  and  knaves.  With 
the  free  and  the  brave  it  will 
effect  nothing.  It  may  be 
true;  if  it  must,  let  it.  Many 
free  countries  have  lost  their 
liberties,  and  ours  may  lose 
hers,  but  if  it  shall,  let  it  be 
my  proudest  plume,  not  that 
I  was  the  last  to  desert,  but 
that  I  never  deserted  her." 

Mr.  Lincoln  declared  that 
he  would  never  bow  to  the 
denunciation  and  persecution 
of  his  opponents,  and  then 
said:  "Here  before  heaven, 
and  in  the  face  of  the  world, 
I  swear  eternal  fidelity  to  the 
just  cause  of  the  land  of  my 
life,  my  liberty  and  my  love. 
The  cause  approved 
of  our  judgment  and  our 
hearts,  in  disaster,  in  chains,  in  death,  we  never  faltered  in  defending.1' 

On  February  22,  1842,  he  delivered  before  the  Washingtonian  Temperance 
Society,  at  Springfield,  an  address  upon  temperance,  in  which  he  said:     "When 
the  victory  shall  be  complete,  when  there  shall  be  neither  slave  nor  a  drunkard 
on  the  earth,  how  proud  the  title  of  that  land  which  may  claim  to  be  the  birth 
place  and  cradle  of  those  revolutions  that  shall  have  ended  in  that  victory." 
Judge  Arnold,  in  the  following,  describes  an  important  period  in  Lincoln's  life: 
"Wishing  to  devote  his  time  exclusively  to  his  profession,  he  did  not.  as  had 
already  been  stated,  seek,  in  1840,  re-election  to  the  Legislature.     He  had  been 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARBISON. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


associated  as  partner  with  one  of  the  most  prominent  lawyers  at  the  capital  of 
the  state,  and  he  himself  was  leader  of  his  party,  and  altogether  the  most  pop 
ular  man  in  central  Illinois.  In  August,  1837,  Stuart,  his  partner,  was  elected 
to  Congress  over  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  after  one  of  the  severest  contests  which 
ever  occurred  in  the  state.  The  district  then  extended  from  Springfield  t<- 
Chicago,  and  embrac3d  nearly  all  the  northern  part  of  Illinois.  Stuart  wa* 
re-elected  in  1839.  Their  partnership  terminated  on  April  14,  184.1,  and  on  the 
same  day  Lincoln  entered  into  a  new  partnership  with  Judge  Stephen  T.  Logan, 
one  of  the  ablest  and  most 
successful  lawyers  of  the 
st  ite,  and  at  that  time  univer 
sally  recognized  as  at  the  h,jad 
of  the  bar  at  the  capital.1' 

Lincoln  was  the  candidate 
for  Congress  at  the  time  of 
the  presidential  election  in 
1840.  Colonel  Coffin  describes 
an  incident  in  the  campaign 
of  that  year,  from  Judge 
Herndon's  account,  as  follows : 

"Edward  Dickinson  Baker 
was  born  in  London,  England. 
He  was  two  years  younger 
than  Abraham  Lincoln,  and 
came  to  America  early  in  life. 
Hi  made  Springfi  -Id  his  home. 
H3  was  a  young  lawyer,  and, 
like  Lincoln,  an  ardent  Whig. 
His  voice  was  musical.  He 
could  play  the  piano,  sing 
songs  and  write  poetry.  He 
was  an  earnest  advocate  for 
the  election  of  Harrison  as 
president,  and  macb  a  speech 
in  the  court-house  to  a  great 
crowd.  M  iny  who  gathered  to  hear  him  were  Democrats.  They  were  rough 
men;  chewed  tobacco,  drank  whisky,  and  became  angry  at  what  Baker  was  saying. 

uThe  office  of  Stuart  &  Lincoln  was  over  the  court-room.  A  trap-door  for 
ventilation,  above  the  platform  of  the  court-room,  opened  into  their  office. 
Lincoln,  desiring  to  hear  what  Baker  was  saying,  lifted  the  door,  stretched  him 
self  upon  the  floor,  and  looked  down  upon  the  swaying  crowd.  Baker  was  talk 
ing  about  the  stealings  of  the  Democratic  officials  in  the  land-offices. 

ut  Wherever  there  is  a  land-office  there  you  will  find  a  Democratic^newspaper 
defending  its  corruptions,'  said  Baker. 


MARTIN    VAN   BUREN. 


92 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


u'Pull  him  down!  Put  him  out!  It's  a  lie!'  was  the  cry  from  a  fellow  in 
the  crowd  whose  brother  was  editor  of  a  Democratic  paper.  There  was  a  rush 
for  the  platform.  Great  was  the  astonishment  of  the  crowd  at  seeing  a  pair  of 
long  legs  dangle  from  the  scuttle,  and  then  the  body,  shoulders  and  head  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  who  let  himself  down  to  the  platform.  He  lifted  his  hand, 
but  the  fellows  did  not  heed  his  gesture.  Then  they  saw  him  grasp  a  stoneware 
water-pitcher  and  heard  him  say,  'Hold  on,  gentlemen!  This  is  a  free  country— 
a  land  for  free  speeches.  Mr.  Baker  has  a  right  to  speak;  let  him  be  heard.  I 
am  here  to  protect  him,  and  no  man  shall  take  him  from  this  platform  if  I  can 
prevent  it.'  Baker  made  his  speech  without  further  molestation." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

LINCOLN'S  LOVE  AFFAIR  AND  MARRIAGE. 

AT  about  this  time  Lincoln  again  had  time  and  inclination  to  resume  love- 
making.  Miss  Mary  Todd,  of  Kentucky,  was  this  time  the  young  lady  who 
attracted  his  attention.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Hon.  Robert  S.  Todd,  and 
grandniece  of  John  Todd,  who,  in  company  with  General  George  Rogers  Clark, 
in  1778,  was  present  at  the  capture  of  Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes,  Indiana,  and 
who  was  appointed  by  Patrick  Henry,  governor  of  Virginia,  "county  lieutenant, 
or  commandant,  of  the  county  of  Illinois,  in  the  state  of  Virginia.11  He  was  the 
founder  of  the  state,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Blue  Licks,  Kentucky,  in 
1782.  Miss  Todd  came  to  Springfield  in  1839,  to  visit  her  sister,  the  wife  of  the 
Hon.  Ninian  W.  Edwards.  She  was  at  this  time  twenty-one  years  of  age.  Her 
mother  died  when  Mary  was  very  young,  and  she  had  been  taught  in  a  boarding- 
school  at  Lexington.  She  is  described  by  Judge  Arnold  as  "intelligent  and 
bright,  full  of  life  and  animation,  with  ready  wit  and  quick  at  repartee  and 
satire.  Her  eyes  were  grayish  blue,  her  hair  abundant  and  dark  brown  in  color. 
She  was  a  brunette,  with  a  rosy  tinge  in  her  cheeks,  of  medium  height,  and  form 
rather  full  and  round.11 

She  was  at  once  received  in  what  really  were  the  best  families,  and  soon 
showed  herself  worthy  to  move  in  the  highest  social  circles.  She  had  at  an 
early  period  become  acquainted,  very  naturally,  with  a  large  number  of  educated 
young  men,  most  of  them  lawyers  or  in  some  way  prominently  connected  with 
public  affairs.  Both  the  young  men  and  the  young  women  of  the  town  were 
greatly  interested  in  politics,  and  not  a  few  of  them  were  ambitious.  This  was 
true  of  the  Lexington  belle  who  had  so  recently  made  her  advent  in  Springfield. 
She  had  her  eyes  quite  wide  open,  and  gave  these  young  men  a  close  inspection. 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  the  most  famous  member  of  the  group.  He  was  at  this  time 
serving  his  "last  term  in  the  Legislature;  he  was  one  of  the  best  orators  and 
stump-speakers  in  the  state  of  Illinois.  And  socially,  too,  he  was  very  prom 
inent.  An  old  resident  says  that  "every  lady  wanted  to  get  near  Lincoln,  to 
hear  him  talk.'1  An  old  gentleman  told  Judge  Arnold  that  when  dining  one 
d  ly  at  the  same  table  with  Miss  Todd  and  Lincoln,  he  said  to  her  after  dinner, 
hilf  in  jest  and  half  in  earnest:  "Mary,  I  have  heard  that  you  have  said  you 

w  int  to  marry  a  man  who  will  be  president.     If  so,  Abe  Lincoln  is  your  man.1' 

J 


94 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Lincoln  had  been  introduced  to  Miss  Todd  by  Mr.  Speed,  a  friend  of  both. 
The  young  lady  especially  interested  him,  as  she  was  a  personal  friend  of  his 
great  exemplar,  Henry  Clay.  But  he  was  attracted,  also',  by  her  personal  beauty 
and  her  sprightliness.  He  had  not  forgotten  Ann  Rutledge,  whom  he  had  ten 
derly  loved  and  to  whose  me.nory  he  was  loyal,  but,  nevertheless,  he  and  Miss 
Told  evidently  grew  more  and  more  attached  to  each  other  daily.  It  is  to  her 
credit  that  in  spite  of  his  awkwardness  she  recognized  his  sterling  qualitiesr 
and  had  glimpses,  perhaps,  of  his  future  illustrious  career.  Miss  Todd  was 

an  ardent  lover,  while  Lincoln 
had  the  deliberation  of  a  lawyer 
as  well  as  the  heart  of  a  man. 
Lincoln  and  Miss  Todd  were  at 
last  engaged,  and  a  day  in 
January,  1841,  was  fixed  for  the 
wedding,  to  be  celebrated  at 
the  house  of  Judge  Edwards. 
Elaborate  preparations  were 
made,  and  the  expectant  bride 
was  radiant  and  happy,  but  Mr. 
Lincoln,  most  unfortunately, 
was  attacked  by  one  of  his 
periods  of  deep  depression — of 
doubt,  anxiety  and  fear.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  he  did  not 
love  the  girl  well  enough  to 
marry  her,  and  he  remained 
away.  The  disappointment, 
sorrow  and  mortification  of 
Miss  Todd  could  not  adequately 
be  expressed.  Mr.  Speed  sought 
his  friend,  and  found  him, "  pale, 
haggard  and  in  the  deepest 
melancholy." 

To  Hon.  John  T.  Stuart  Mr. 
Lincoln  wrote  these  sentences: 

"I  am  the  most  miserable  man  living.  If  what  I  feel  were  equally  distributed 
to  the  whole  human  family,  there  would  not  be  a  cheerful  face  on  earth.  Whether 
I  shall  ever  be  better  I  cannot  tell;  I  awfully  forebode  I  shall  not.  To  remain 
as  I  am  is  impossible.  I  must  die  or  be  better." 

Lincoln's  true  and  loyal  friend,  Joshua  F.  Speed,  who  had  closed  his  business 
in  Springfield  and  was  about  to  return  to  Louisville,  persuaded  the  young  man 
to  accompany  him.  There  he  was  graciously  and  affectionately  greeted  by  the 
mother  of  Mr.  Speed,  one  of  those  noble  Christian  women  whose  radiant  lives 
witness  the  truth  of  the  religion  they  represent.  Mr.  Speed  tried  in  vain  to 


MRS.   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


arouse  Lincoln  to  make  an  effort  to  overcome  the  weight  of  his  sorrow.  It 
remained  for  Mr.  Speed's  mother  to  lead  him  to  the  Great  Comforter  who  offers 
help  to  all  who  come  to  him.  Lincoln  was  deeply  impressed  and  strongly  influ 
enced  by  this  good  woman.  Lucy  Gilman  Speed  was  as  warm-hearted  as  she  was 
refined.  She  was  a  delight  and  comfort  to  all  who  knew  her.  Above  all,  she 
was  a  devoted,  loving  and  very  intelligent  Christian  woman,  of  a  deep  and  broad 
spiritual  nature,  and  was  capable  of  leading  this  brilliant  and  intellectual  man, 
who  was  often  in  doubt,  into  the  clear,  warm,  bright,  invigorating  and  vivifying 
atmosphere  of  Christian 
knowledge  and  experience. 
Mrs.  Speed  gave  Mr.  Lincoln 
an  Oxford  Bible,  which  he 
retained  and  read  all  his  life. 

From  the  Speed  residence 
Lincoln,  greatly  and  strongly 
comforted,  took  passage  on 
a  steamer,  with  "new  hopes 
and  ambitions,"  on  his  way 
to  Springfield.  On  his  way 
he  had  another  opportunity 
to  observe  some  of  the  bar 
barous  customs  due  to  the 
toleration  of  slavery. 

"A  fine  example  was  pre 
sented  on  board  the  boat  for 
contemplating  the  effect  of 
condition  upon  human  hap 
piness.  A  gentleman  had 
purchased  twelve  negroes  in 
different  parts  of  Kentucky, 
and  was  taking  them  to  a 
farm  in  the  South.  They 
were  chained  six  and  six 
together;  a  small  iron  clevis 
was  around  the  left  wrist 

of  each,  and  this  was  fastened  to  the  main  chain  by  a  shorter  one  at  a 
convenient  distance  from  the  others,  so  that  the  negroes  were  strung  together 
precisely  like  so  many  fish  upon  a  trout-line.  In  this  condition  they  were  being 
separated  forever  from  the  scenes  of  their  childhood,  their  friends,  their  fathers 
and  mothers  and  brothers  and  sisters,  and  many  of  them  from  their  wives  and 
children,  and  going  into  perpetual  slavery,  where  the  lash  of  the  master  is 
proverbially  more  ruthless  than  anywhere  else;  and  yet  amid  all  these  distress 
ing  circumstances,  as  we  would  think  them,  they  were  the  most  cheerful  and 
apparently  happy  people  on  board.  One,  whose  offense  for  which  he  was  sold 


AN  EARLY  PORTRAIT  OF  LINCOLN. 


96 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


was  an  overfondness  for  his  wife,  played  the  fiddle  almost  continually,  and 
others  danced,  sang,  cracked  jokes,  and  played  various  games  with  cards  from 
day  to  day.  How  true  it  is  that  'God  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb,'  or, 
in  other  words,  that  he  renders  the  worst  of  human  conditions  tolerable,  while 
he  permits  the  best  to  be  nothing  better  than  tolerable." 

On  his  return,  Lincoln  applied  himself  to  the  law,  and  continued  his  practice 
witk  great  vigor.  To  all  appearances  the  memory  of  his  engagement  to  Mary 
Todd  did  not  disturb  him.  The  pain  of  separation  was  over,  their  paths  leading 
in  different  directions,  and  the  whole  thing  was  a  matter  of  the  past.  And  so 
might  it  have  ever  remained  but  for  the  intervention  of  Mrs.  Simeon  Francis. 
She  was  a  leader  in  society,  and  an  admirer  of  Mary  Todd's.  Her  husband,  who 
was  editor  of  the  Sangamon  Journal,  was  warmly  attached  to  Lincoln.  Lincoln 


HOUSE  WHERE  LINCOLN   WAS  MARRIED,    AND  WHERE  MRS.    LINCOLN   DIED. 


was  a  frequent  contributor,  and  practically  controlled  the  editorial  columns  of 
the  Journal.  Mrs.  Francis  took  it  upon  herself  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation 
between  Lincoln  and  Miss  Todd.  She  arranged  for  a  gathering  at  her  house, 
inviting  them,  and  both  attended,  neither  suspecting  the  other's  presence  until 
the  hostess  brought  them  together,  with  the  request,  uBe  friends  again,1'  thereby 
renewing  the  courtship.  At  first  their  meetings  were  secret  at  the  home  of 
their  good  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Francis.  Miss  Todd's  sister  was  not  aware  of 
the  reconciliation  for  several  weeks  afterward. 

It  was  a  time  of  great  financial  depression;  the  state  was  heavily  in  debt  from 
great  expenditure  in  internal  improvements,  and  James  Shields,  the  auditor  of 
state,  who  was  thought  to  have  overstepped  his  duties  in  collecting  taxes,  was 
bitterly  denounced.  Shields  was  from  Tyrone,  Ireland.  He  was  quite  prom- 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


97 


inent  and  popular  in  social  circles,  and  was  proud  and  high-spirited.  Miss  Todd, 
who  was  a  keen  observer,  thought  Shields  a  good  mark  for  shafts  of  ridicule,' 
especially  as  he  appeared  to  be  somtwhat  vain.  She  therefore  wrote  a  series  of 
satirical  papers  for  the  Sangamon  Journal,  entitled  "Aunt  Rebecca,  or  the 
Lost  Township."  Judge  Herndon  describes  the  affair  as  follows: 

"  It  was  written  from  '  Lost  Township,1  a  place  not  found  on  any  map.  The 
writer  was  a  widow,  and  signed  herself  'Rebecca.'  The  widow  gave  an  account 
of  a  visit  to  her  neighbor,  whom  she  found  very  angry.  'What  is  the  matter, 
Jeff?'  she  asked.  'I'm  mad 
Aunt 'Becca!  I've  been  tug 
ging  ever  since  harvest,  get 
ting  out  wheat  and  hauling 
it  to  the  river  to  raise  state 
bank  paper  enough  to  pay 
my  tax  this  year  and  a  little 
school  debt  I  owe;  and  now, 
just  as  I've  got  it,  here  I 
open  this  infernal  Extra 
Register  [Democratic  news 
paper],  expecting  to  find  it 
full  of  Glorious  Democratic 
Victories  and  High  Com'd 
Cocks,  when,  lo  and  behold  ! 
I  find  a  set  of  fellows,  calling 
themselves  officers  of  the 
state,  have  forbidden  the  tax 
collectors  and  school  com 
missioners  to  receive  any 
more  state  paper  at  all;  so 
here  it  is,  dead  on  my 
hands.' 

"The  widow  went  on  to 
tell  how  her  neighbor  used 
some  bad  words.  'Don't 
swear  so,'  she  said,  in  expos 
tulation,  to  Jeff;  'you  know  I  belong  to  the  meetin',  and  swearing  hurts  my 
feelings.' 

' '  Beg  pardon,  Aunt  'Becca,  but  I  do  say  that  it  is  enough  to  make  one  swear, 
to  have  to  pay  taxes  in  silver  for  nothing  only  that  Ford  may  get  his  $2,000, 
Shields  his  $2,400,  and  Carpenter  his  $1,600  a  year,  and  all  without  danger  of 
loss  from  state  paper."1 

Shields,  like  most  vain  men,  was  very  sensitive  to  ridicule,  and  sought  the 
editor  of  the  paper,  demanding  the  name  of  the  author,  which  demand  was 
refused.  The  editor,  knowing  something  of  the  relations  between  Lincoln  and 


HORACE   GREELEY. 
(Founder  of  the  New  York   Tribune.) 


98 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Miss  Todd,  advised  him  of  the  circumstances,  whereupon  Lincoln  assumed  the 
authorship,  and  was*  challenged  by  Shields  to  meet  him  on  the  "field  of  honor.1' 
Meanwhile  Miss  Todd  increased  Mr.  Shields'  ire  by  writing  another  letter  to  the 
paper,  in  which  she  said:  UI  hear  the  way  of  these  fire-eaters  is  to  give  the 
challenged  party  the  choice  of  weapons,  which  being  the  case,  I'll  tell  you  in 
confidence  that  I  never  fight  with  anything  but  broom-sticks,  or  hot  water,  or  a 
shovelful  of  coals,  the  former  of  which,  being  somewhat  like  a  shillalah,  may  not 
be  objectionable  to  him."  Lincjln  accepted  the  challenge,  and  selected  broad 
swords  as  the  weapons. 
Mutual  friends  attempted 
to  bring  about  a  peaceful 
termination  of  what  seemed 
likely  to  be  a  tragedy.  Judge 
Herndon  gives  the  closing 
of  this  affair,  as  follows: 

"  The  laws  of  Illinois 
prohibited  duelling,  and  he 
[Lincoln]  demanded  that  the 
meeting  should  le  outside 
the  state.  Shields  undoubt 
edly  knew  I  hat  Lincoln  was 
opposed  to  fighting  a  duel- 
that  his  moral  sense  would 
revolt  at  the  thought,  and 
that  he  would  not  be  likely 
to  break  the  law  by  fighting 
in  the  state.  Possibly  he 
thought  Lincoln  would  make 
an  humble  apology.  Shields 
was  brave  but  foolish,  and 
would  not  listen  to  overtures 
for  explanation.  It  was 
arranged  that  the  meeting 
CALEB  B.  SMITH.  should  be  in  Missouri,  oppo 

site  Alton.     They  proceeded 

to  the  place  selected,  but  friends  interfered,  and  there  was  no  duel.  There  is  little 
doubt  that  the  man  who  had  swung  a  beetle  and  driven  iron  wedges  into  gnarled 
hickory  logs  could  have  cleft  the  skull  of  his  antagonist,  but  he  had  no  such  inten 
tion.  He  repeatedly  said  to  the  friends  of  Shields  that  in  writing  the  first  article 
he  had  no  thought  of  anything  personal.  The  auditor's  vanity  had  been  sorely 
wounded  by  the  second  letter,  in  regard  to  which  Lincoln  could  not  make  any 
explanation  except  that  he  had  had  no  hand  in  writing  it.  The  affair  set  all 
Springfield  to  laughing  at  Shields,  but  it  detracted  from  the  happiness  of  Lincoln. 
By  accepting  the  challenge  he  had  violated  his  sense  of  right  and  outraged  his 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


better  nature.  He  would  gladly  have  blotted  it  from  memory.  It  was  ever  a 
regret.'1 

On  November  4,  1842,  the  wedding,  so  unhappily  postponed,  was  held,  under 
most  happy  auspices.  The  officiating  clergyman,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dresser,  used  the 
Episcopal  church  service'for  marriage.  Lincoln  placed  the  ring  upon  the  bride's 
finger,  and  said,  "  With  this  ring  I  now  thee  wed,  and  with  all  my  worldly  goods 
I  thee  endow.'7  Judge  Thomas  C.  Browne,  who  was  present,  and  had  a  pre 
eminently  legal  mind,  exclaimed,  "Good  gracious,  Lincoln!  the  statute  fixes 
all  that.1' 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  took  rooms  in  the  Globe  tavern,  at  Springfield,  about 
two  hundred  yards   southwest  of   the  old   state-house.      They  were   pleasantly 
situated,  paying  four 
dollars    a    week     for 
board  and  rooms. 

Ostentatious  or  ex 
pensive  display  was 
never  to  Lincoln's 
taste,  nor  did  his  pro 
fessional  earnings  to 
the  last  permit  such. 
He  never  cared  to 
become  a  rich  man. 
The  fee  whigh  he  re 
ceived  in  the  McCor- 
mi^k  reaper  case 
amounted  to  $2,000, 
including  the  largest 
retainer  ever  paid  him 
—$500.  It  is  believed 
this  was  the  largest 
he  ever  received,  ex 
cepting  one  that  was 

paid  him  by  the  Illinois  Central  railrond.  These  two  sums  came  to  him  many 
years  later  than  the  period  to  which  we  have  now  come,  and  undoubtedly  helped 
him  to  tide  over  personal  and  family  expenses  in  the  period  immediately  preced 
ing  and  during  his  celebrated  debates  with  Douglas.  If  a  client  did  not  pay, 
Lincoln  did  not  believe  in  suing  for  the  fee.  When  a  fee  was  paid  him  his 
custom  was  to  divide  the  money  into  two  equal  parts,  put  one  part  into  his 
pocket,  and  the  other  into  an  envelop  labeled  "Herndon's  share." 

Judge  Stephen  T.  Logan  was  Mr.  Lincoln's  law  partner  from  April,  1841,  to 
September,  1843,  at  which  latter  date  the  firm  of  "Lincoln  &  Herndon"  came  into 
existence,  and  continued  to  the  time  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  death. 

Mr.  Gibson  W.  Harris,  long  in  business  in  Cincinnati,  but  later  of  Volusia 
county,  Florida,  was  for  two  years  or  more  a  law  student  in  Abraham  Lincoln's 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR.  POPULAR  HERO  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR. 


100 


ALJRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


office  in  Springfield.  In  a  personal  letter  to  the  writer  of  these  paragraphs  he 
furnishes  the  following  interesting  and  characteristic  reminiscences:  "A  crack- 
brained  attorney  who  lived  in  Springfield,  supported  mainly,  as  I  understood,  by 
the  other  lawyers  of  the  place,  became  indebted  in  the  sum  of  two  dollars  and 
fifty  cents  to  a  wealthy  citizen  of  the  county,  a  recent  comer.  The  creditor, 
failing  after  repeated  efforts  to  collect  the  amount  due  him,  came  to  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  asked  him  to  bring  suit.  Mr.  Lincoln  explained  the  man's  condition  and 
circumstances,  and  advised  his  client  to  let  the  matter  rest;  but  the  creditor's 
temper  was  up.  and  he  insisted  on  having  suit  brought.  Again  Mr.  Lincoln 
urged  him  to  let  the  matter  drop,  adding,  'You  can  make  nothing  out  of  him, 
and  it  will  cost  you  a  good  deal  more  than  the  debt  to  bring  suit.'  The  creditor 

was  still  determined  to  have 
his  way,  and  threatened  to 
seek  some  other  attorney  who 
would  be  more  willing  to  take 
charge  of  the  matter  than 
Mr.  Lincoln  appeared  to  be. 
Lincoln  then  said,  'Well, 
if  you  are  determined  that 
suit  shall  be  brought.  I  will 
bring  it;  but  my  charge  will 
be  ten  dollars/  The  money 
was  paid  him,  and  peremptory 
orders  were  given  that  the 
suit  be'  brought  that  day. 
After  the  client's  departure 
Mr.  Lincoln  went  out  of  the 
office,  returning  in  about  an 
hour  with  an  amused  look 
on  his  fnce.  I  asked  what 


pleased   him,   and  he  replied, 

;I  brought  suit  against , 

and  then  hunted  him  up,  told 
him  what  I  had  done,  handed 

him  half  of  the  ten  dollars,  and  we  went  over  to  the  squire's  office.  He  con 
fessed  judgment  and  paid  the  bill.'  Mr.  Lincoln  added  that  he  didn't  see  any 
other  way  to  make  things  satisfactory  for  his  client  as  well  as  the  other  parties." 


WINFIELD  SCOTT,  POPULAR  HERO  OF  THE  MEXICAN    WAR, 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

LINCOLN   IN    CONGRESS. 

THE  partnership  between  Judge  Logan  and  Mr.  Lincoln  was  dissolved  Septem 
ber  20,  1843,  and  on  the  same  day  Mr.  Lincoln  associated  himself  with  a 
promising  young  lawyer  named  William  H.  Herndon,  one  of  the  ablest  and  most 
interesting  of  his  biographers.  Mr.  Herndon  was  an  out-and-out  abolitionist, 
in  full  sympathy  with  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Wendell  Phillips  and  other  old 
abolitionist  agitators,  and  anti-slavery  newspapers  and  pamphlets  were  plentiful 
in  Lincoln's  office. 

Mr.  Lincoln  at  that  time  thought  the  immediate  abolishing  of  slavery  was  not 
practical — the  institution  being  recognized  by  the  Constitution  and  existing  in 
one  half  the  states  composing  the  Union.  The  abolitionists  denounced  the 
Constitution  and  the  Union.  Mr.  Lincoln  could  not  go  so  far  as  that;  he  had 
long  been  a  champion  of  the  Constitution  and  of  the  Union. 

In  1844,  Mr.  Lincoln  bought  of  Rav.  Nathan  Dresser  a  roomy  u  frame11  house, 
quite  cozy  and  comfortable,  in  which  he  lived  until  he  went  to  Washington  to 
occupy  the  White  House. 

In  1839,  Mr.  Lincoln's  old  comrade  and  partner,  Hon.  John  T.  Stewart,  had 
b9en  elected  to  Congress,  defeating  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  In  1842,  Lincoln, 
Edward  D.  Baker  and  John  J.  Hardin,  all  personal  friends,  were  congressional 
candidates.  Baker  carried  the  delegation  from  Sangamon  county,  and  Lincoln, 
one  of  the  delegates,  was  instructed  to  vote  for  him,  which  he  did  gracefully, 
saying  to  his  friends,  "I  shall  be  fixed  a  good  deal  like  the  fellow  who  is  made 
groomsman  to  the  man  who  cut  him  out  and  is  marrying  his  girl."  Hardin,  how 
ever,  was  nominated  and  elected.  In  1843,  Baker  was  nominated  and  elected, 
and  in  1816  Lincoln  was  elected.  Lincoln's  opponent  was  the  famous  old 
Methodist  pioneer  preacher,  Peter  Cartwright,  but  Lincoln  received  a  vote  much 
exceeding  his  party  strength.  In  this  campaign  Mr.  Lincoln's  friends  raised  two 
hundred  dollars  toward  paying  his  campaign  expenses,  and  he  returned  one 
hundred  and  ninety-nine  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents,  stating  that  his  only 
expense  was  seventy-five  cents. 

In  1847,  he  was  in  the  house  at  Washington;  there  be  met  the  great  men  of 
that  day.  Among  them  were  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  John  Quincy  Adams  and 
Caleb  B.  Smith,  of  Indiana;  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee;  Alexander  H. 


101 


102 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Stephens,  Howell  Cobb,  Robert  Toombs,  of  Georgia,  and  Barnwell  Rhett,  of 
South  Carolina.  In  the  other  house,  the  Senate,  were  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  recently 
elected  from  Illinois;  Daniel  Webster,  of  Massachusetts;  John  P.  Hale,  of  New 
Hampshire;  John  A.  Dix,  of  New  York;  Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan;  Thomas  H. 
Benton,  of  Missouri;  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  and  Jefferson  Davis, 
of  Mississippi. 

At  Washington  he  saw  gangs  of  slaves  marching  away  from  the  prison  to  be 
sold  in   southern  markets,  and  when  a  member  from   New  York  introduced  a 

resolution  prohibiting  the 
slave  trade  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  Mr.  Lincoln  fa 
vored  it.  He  asserted  further 
that  he  would  make  free  all 
children  born  after  January 
1,  1850,  and  if  owners  of 
slaves  were  willing  to  part 
from  them,  he  would  have 
the  government  purchase 
their  freedom;  but  at  once 
bitter  opposition  appeared  on 
the  part  of  the  southern 
members. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  the  only 
Whig  representing  Illinois, 
the  six  other  members  being 
Democrats. 

In  1844,  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
made  many  speeches  in  be 
half  of  Henry  Clay,  the 
Whig  candidate  for  the 
presidency.  One  of  these 
he  made  at  Pigeon  creek, 
Indiana,  his  old  home.  His 
neighbors  of  former  da\s 
gathered  around  him  and 

listened  in  surprise  and  delight  to  the  eloquence  of  the  man  whom  they  had 
known  as  a  boy.  The  election  of  James  K.  Polk  over  his  favorite,  Henry  Clay, 
was  a  great  blow  to  Lincoln  personally.  He  afterward  embraced  an  opportunity 
to  see  and  hear  his  idol,  and  get  some  comfort  and  consolation  from  his  personal 
presence.  Clay  was  to  deliver  an  address  on  the  u  Gradual  Emancipation  of  the 
Slaves,"  at  Lexington.  This  town  was  Mr.  Lincoln's  old  home,  and  he 
decided  to  go  and  he  ir  the  address,  and,  if  possible,  meet  Mr.  Chiy.  He  went 
int')  the  hall  and  listened,  but  with  a  feeling  of  great  disappointment.  Mr. 
Clay  was  there,  but  not  the  great  orator.  There  was  no  fire  in  the  eye,  no 


WENDELL    PHILLIPS. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


103 


music  in  the  speech.  The  address  was  a  tame  affair,  as  was  the  personal  greeting 
when  Mr.  Lincoln  made  himself  known.  Mr.  Clay  was  courteous,  but  cold.  He 
may  never  have  heard  of  the  man  in.  his  presence  who  was  to  secure,  without 
solicitation,  the  prii  which  he  for  many  years  had  unsuccessfully  sought. 
Lincoln  was  disenchanted;  his  ideal  was  shattered.  One  reason  why  Clay  had 
never  reached  the  goal  of  his  ambition  had  become  apparent.  Two  men  who 
were  radically  different  had  met  at  Lexington  on  this  occasion.  Both  had  com 
menced  life  as  poor  boys,  and  in  the  state  of  Kentucky;  both  had  fought  their 
way  to  high  honors;  both  were  great  orators.  Clay  had  a  great  name  at  home 
and  abroad;  Lincoln's  fame  was  mainly  confined  to  his  own  and  neighboring 


LINCOLN'S   HOME   IN  SPRINGFIELD,   ILLINOIS,    FROM   1844  TO  1861. 

states.  But  Clay  was  cool  and  dignified,  while  Lincoln  was  cordial  and  hearty. 
Clay's  hand  was  bloodless  and  frosty,  with  no  vigorous  grip  in  it;  Lincoln's  was 
warm,  and  its  clasp  was  expressive  of  kindliness  and  sympathy. 

Mr.  Lincoln  did  more  than  occupy  his  seat  and  respond  at  roll-call,  notwith 
standing  he  was  a  new  member,  from  a  region  that  was  then  called  "the  West.1" 
The  Mexican  war  was  in  progress.  The  object  of  this  war,  expressed  in 
plain  English,  was  to  increase,  through  the  enlargement  of  the  limits  of  the  state 
of  Texas,  a  greater  breadth  of  territory  to  be  utilized  by  slave-owners.  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  at  heart  opposed  to  slavery;  he  desired  that,  as  soon  as  possjble,  the 
District  of  Columbia  should  be  made  free.  He  was  opposed  to  the  addition  of 


104 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


territory  to  the  United  States  simply  for  the  purpose  of  dividing  it  into  new  slave 
states,  and  thereby  giving  the  institution  greater  power  for  harm  in  the  councils 
of  the  nation  than  they  already  possessed.  He  did  not  build  wiser  than  he  knew, 
in  his  time,  but  much  wiser  than  the  mass  of  the  people  who  were  his  contem 
poraries  knew. 

The  question  of  slavery  as  connected  with  the  war  with  Mexico  was  quite 
intricate.  He  was  a  patriot,  and  at  the  same  time  was  a  representative  of  the 
cause  of  human  freedom.  He  voted  for  men  and  money  to  carry  on  the  war. 

He  honored  the  brave  men 
who  responded  to  the  call 
of  their  country.  His  old 
friend  Hard  in,  who  had  rep- 
] evented  his  own  district  iji« 
Congress,  fell  at  Buena, 
Vista.  Yet  Mr.  Lincoln,  who 
had  been  faithful  as  a  patriot, 
.  could  not  be  persuaded  or 
forced  to  admit  or  vote  to 
the  effect  that  the  war  had 
been  righteously  begun  by 
President  Polk.  "But,"  said 
Mr.  Lincoln  afterward,  in  his- 
joint  debate  with  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  replying  to  (he 
charge  of  Douglas  that  he 
had  taken  the  part  of  the 
common  enemy,  "  whenever 
they  asked  for  any  money, 
or  land  warrants,  or  any 
thing  to  pay  the  soldiers 
there,  during  all  that  time 
I  gave  the  same  vote  that 
Judge  Douglas  did.  You 
can  think  as  you  please  as 
to  whether  that  was  consis 
tent.  Such  is  the  truth,  and  the  judge  has  the  right  to  make  all  he  can  out  of  it. 
But  when  he,  by  a  general  charge,  conveys  the  idea  that  I  withheld  supplies 
from  the  soldiers  who  were  fighting  in  the  Mexican  war,  or  did  anything  else  to 
hinder  the  soldiers,  he  is,  to  say  the  least,  grossly  and  altogether  mistaken.11 

During  this  session  of  Congress  Mr.  Lincoln  introduced  what  his  opponents 
called  the  "Spot11  resolutions,  their  purpose  being  to  ridicule  him.  Nevertheless 
they  were  very  much  annoyed  and  worried  by  them.  They  gave  President  Polk 
a  great  deal  of  worry  and  trouble.  He  had  tried  to  convey,  in  his  message,  the 
impression  that  the  Mexicans  were  the  aggressors,  and  that  the  war  was  under- 


PETER   CARTWRIGIIT. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN". 


103 


taken  to  repel  invasion  and  to  avenge  the  shedding  of  the  "  blood  of  our  felloe- 
citizens  on  our  own  soil.11  No  president,  before  nor  since,  was  ever  so  peculiarly 
or  trenchantly  arraigned  as  on  this  occasion.  The  resolutions  are  given  in  full 
below: 

^Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  That  the  President  of  the  United 
•States  be  respectfully  requested  to  inform  this  House — 

"  1st.  Whether  the  spot  on  which  the  blood  of  our  citizens  was  shed,  as  in  his 
messages  declared,  was  or  was  not  within   the  territory  of  Spain,  at   least  after 
the  treaty  of  1819,  until  the 
Mexican  revolution. 

"2d.  Whether  that  spot 
is  or  is  nob  within  the  terri 
tory  which  was  wrested  from 
Spain,  by  the  revolutionary 
government  of  Mexico. 

"3d.  Whether  that  spot 
is  or  is  not  within  a  settle 
ment  of  people,  which  set 
tlement  has  existed  ever  since 
i  long  before  the  Texas  revolu 
tion,  and  until  its  inhabitants 
fled  before  the  approach  of 
the  United  States  army. 

"4th.  Wh'fchar  that  set 
tlement  is  or  is  not  isolated 
from  any  and  all  other  set 
tlements  by  the  Gulf  and 
the  Rio  Grande  on  the  south 
:and  west,  and  by  wide  unin 
habited  regions  on  the  north 
and  east. 

"5th.  Whether  the  peo 
ple  of  that  settlement,  or  a 
majority  of  them,  or  any  of 
them,  have  ever  submitted 
themselves  to  the  government  or  laws  of  Texas  or  of  the  United  Stales,  by  con 
sent  or  by  compulsion,  either  by  accepting  office,  or  voting  at  elections,  or  pay 
ing  tax,  or  serving  on  juries,  or  having  process  served  upon  them,  or  in  any 
other  way. 

44  6th.  Whether  the  people  of  that  settlement  did  or  did  not  flee  from  the 
approach  of  the  United  States  army,  leaving  unprotected  their  homes  and  their 
growing  crops,  before  the  blood  was  shed,  as  in  the  messages  stated:  and  wl. ether 
the  first  blood  so  shed  was  or  was  not  shed  within  the  inclosure  of  one  of  the 
people  who  had  thus  fled  from  it. 


JAMES   K.    POLK 


106 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


U7th.  Whether  our  citizens,  whose  blood  was,  shed,  as  in  his  messages  declared, 
were  or  were  not,  at  that  time,  armed  officers  and  soldiers,  sent  into  that  settle 
ment  by  the  military  order  of  the  President,  through  the  Secretary  of  War. 

U8th.  Whether  the  military  force  of  the  United  States  was  or  was  not  so  sent 
into  that  settlement  after  General  Taylor  had  more  than  once  intimated  to  the 
War  Department  that,  in  his  opinion,  no  such  movement  was  necessary  to  the 
defense  or  protection  of  Texas." 

Action  on  these  resolutions  was  never  taken,  but  they  did  their  work.  On 
January  12,  1848,  Mr.  Lincoln  commented  on  them  in  a  speech,  in  which,  as 
Henry  J.  Raymond  says,  "he  discussed,  in  his  homely  and  forcible  manner,  the 
absurdities  and  contradictions  of  Mr.  Folk's  message,  and  exposed  its  weakness.1' 

L.'t  us  hope  that  Henry  Clay,  a  man  of  integrity,  as  eminent  for  patriotism  as 
for  his  matchless  oratory,  lived  long  enough  to  discover  the  sort  and  style  of 
man  Abraham  Lincoln  was. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  still  the  friend  of  internal  improvements,  and  made  a  speech 
in  Congress  advocating  and  defending  the  system  they  represented. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   TAYLOR- CASS   CAMPAIGN" — FREE   SOIL   AGITATION". 

IN  1848,  Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  the  pres 
idency  in  opposition  to  General  Zachary  Taylor,  who  was  heartily  supported 
by  Mr.  Lincoln.  The  friends  of  General  Cass  made  much  of  and  exploited  his 
military  services  during  the  campaign.  Mr.  Lincoln  knew  something  about 
their  character,  and  had  investigated  Cass1  accounts  with  the  treasury.  These 
accounts  Lincoln  alluded  to  in  detail  (July  28,  1848),  and  then  said: 

"I  have  introduced  General  Cass1  accounts  here  chiefly  to  show  the  wonder 
ful  physical  capacities  of  the  man.  They  show  that  he  not  only  did  the  labor 
of  several  men  at  the  same  time,  but  he  often  did  it  in  several  places  many 
hundred  miles  apart  at  the  same  time.  And  as  to  eating,  too,  his  capacities  are 
shown  to  be  quite  as  wonderful.  From  October,  1821,  to  May,  1822,  he 
ate  ten  rations  a  day  in  Michigan,  ten  rations  a  day  here  in  Washington, 
nearly  $5  worth  a  day,  besides  partly  on  the  road  between  the  t$ro  places. 
And  then  there  is  an  important  discovery  in  his  example— the  act  of 
being  paid  for  what  one  eats,  instead  of  having  to  pay  for  it.  Here 
after,  if  any  nice  young  man  shall  owe  a  bill  which  he  cannot  pay  in 
any  other  way,  he  can  just  board  it  out.  We  have  all  heard  of  the  animal 
standing  in  doubt  between  two  stacks  of  hay  and  starving  to  death;  the  like  of 
that  would  never  happen  to  General  Cass.  Place  the  stacks  a  thousand  miles 
apart,  and  he  would  stand  stock-still  midway  between  them  and  cat  them  both  at 
once;  and  the  green  grass  along  the  line  would  be  apt  to  suffer  some,  too,  at  the 
same  time.  By  all  means,  make  him  president,  gentlemen.  He  will  feed  you 
bounteously,  if — if — there  is  any  left  after  he  shall  have  helped  himself." 

In  the  campaign  in  behalf  of  Taylor  and  against  Cass,  Mr.  Lincoln  made  a 
speech  in  which  he  said: 

"But  in  my  hurry  I  was  very  near  closing  on  the  subject  of  military  coat-tails 
before  I  was  done  with  it.  There  is  one  entire  article  of  the  sort  I  have  not 
discussed  yet;  I  mean  the  military  tail  you  Democrats  are  now  engaged  in  dove 
tailing  onto  the  great  Michigander.  Yes,  sir,  all  his  biographers  (and  they  are 
legion)  have  him  in  hand,  tying  him  to  a  military  tail,  like  so  many  mischievous 
boys  tying  a  dog  to  a  bladder  of  beans.  True,  the  material  they  have  is  very 
limited,  but  they  drive  at  it  might  and  main.  He  invaded  Canada  without 


108 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


resistance,  and  he  o^vaded  it  without  pursuit.  As  he  did  both  under  orders,  I 
suppose  there  was  to  him  credit  in  neither  of  them;  but  they  are  made  to  con 
stitute  a  large  part  of  the  tail.  He  was  volunteer  aid  to  General  Harrison  on  the 
day  of  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  and  as  you  said  in  1840  that  Harrison  was  pick 
ing  whortleberries,  two  miles  off,  while  the  battle  was  fought,  I  suppose  it  is  a 
just  conclusion  with  you  to  say  Cass  was  aiding  Harrison  to  pick  whoi tleberries. 
This  is  about  all,  except  the  mooted  question  of  the  broken  sword.  Some  authors 
say  he  broke  it;  some  say  he  threw  it  away,  and  some  others,  who  ought  to  know, 
say  nothing  about  it.  Perhaps  it  would  be  a  fair  historical  compromise  to  say. 

if  he  did  not  break  it,  he  did 
not  do  anything  else  with  it." 
President  Taylor  offered  to 
make  Lincoln  governor  of  the 
territory  of  Oregon,  but  he 
declined  the  honor. 

His  opposition  in  Congress 
to  the  Mexican  war  made  him 
temporarily  unpopular  in  his 
district,  and  prevented  his  re 
election.  He  took  the  ground 
that  the  Mexican  war  was 
unnecessarily  and  unconsti 
tutionally  commenced  by  the 
president. 

Of  a  speech  made  by  Alex 
ander  H.  Stephens,  in  Con 
gress,  Mr.  Lincoln  wrote  io 
Willjam  Herndon,  as  fol 
lows:  "I  just  take  up  my 
pen  to  say  that  Mr.  Stephen?, 
of  Georgia,  a  little,  slim,  pale- 
faced,  consumptive  man,  with 

a  voice  like  Logan,  has  just  concluded  the  very  best  speech  of  an  hour's  length 
I  ever  heard.  My  old,  withered,  dry  eyes  are  full  of  tears  yet!"  Lincoln's 
letters  to  Herndon,  who  was  his  law  partner  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  while  in 
Congress  or  out  on  the  circuit,  and  even  while  president,  are  invaluable  in  judging 
Lincoln's  character. 

This  same  Alexander  Stephens,  vice-president  of  the  southern  confederacy, 
writing,  seventeen  years  after  Lincoln's  death,  and  recalling  their  service  together 
in  Congress,  from  1847  to  1849,  says:  "I  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  well  and  intimately. 
and  we  were  both  ardent  supporters  of  General  Taylor  for  president  in  1848. 
Mr.  Lincoln,  Toombs,  Preston,  myself  and  others  formed  the  first  congressional 
Taylor  club,  known  as  'The  Young  Indians,'  and  organized  the  Taylor  move 
ment,  which  resulted  in  his  nomination.  .  .  . 


ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  109 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  was  careful  as  to  his  manners,  awkward  in  his  speech,  but 
was  possessed  of  a  very  strong,  clear,  vigorous  mind.  ...  T  .  He  always 
attracted  and  riveted  the  attention  of  the  House  when  he  spoke.  His  manner  of 
speech  as  well  as  thought  was  original.  He  had  no  model.  He  was  a  man  of 
strong  convictions,  and  what  Carlyle  would  have  called  an  earnest  man.  He 
abounded  in  anecdote.  He  illustrated  everything  he  was  talking  about  by  an 
anecdote,  always  exceedingly  apt  arid  pointed,  and  socially  he  always  kept  his 
company  in  a  roar  of  laughter." 

During  the  Taylor-Cass  campaign  Mr.  Lincoln  made  his  first  visit  to  the 
East,  speaking  at  New  York  and  Boston,  and  attracting  much  attention.  He 
made  a  notable  address  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts.  On  his  way  home  he  con 
ceived  a  device  for  raising  steamboats  in  low  water,  which  he  patented. 

At  the  second  session  of  Congress,  Mr.  Lincoln  introduced  a  bill  looking  to  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  but  it  was  ultimately 
laid  on  the  table,  and  remained  there.  The  introduction  and  advocacy  of  the  bill 
covers,  however,  a  significant  and  honorable  leaf  in  his  public  record. 

In  1849,  Mr.  Lincoln  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  Springfield.  The  year 
1849  will  be  forever  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the  country.  In  the  year 
before,  James  W.  Marshall  was  digging  a  mill-race  for  John  A.  Sutter,  in  Califor 
nia.  Some  "yellow  stuff  "  was  discovered  by  Marshall  in  a  shovelful  of  dirt. 
That  u  yellow  stuff11  was  to  produce  a  commercial  and  financial  revolution 
Marshall  took  a  lot  of  this  yellow  stuff  to  the  small  collection  of  houses 
called  San  Francisco,  and  showed  it  to  Isaac  Humphrey,  who  had  been  a  miner 
of  precious  metals  in  Georgia.  Said  Humphrey,  "It  is  gold." 

There  were  no  telegraph  lines  or  railways  across  the  continent  at  that  lime, 
although  it  had  long  been  predicted  that  a  railroad  would  be  built.  The.  news 
of  the  discovery  of  gold,  however,  traveled  as  rapidly  as  steamships  could  cany 
it.  It  went  down  to  the  Isthmus,  was  then  taken  overland  from  the  Pacific  1o 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  thence  by  water  to  New  York.  It  was  then  spread  in 
the  newspapers  to. all  portions  of  the  country.  Many  of  the  ''forty-niners11  are 
still  living,  and  some  of  them  are  hale  and  hearty.  They  rushed  to  the  new  El 
Dorado  in  great  numbers,  if  traveling  by  steamboat  and  on  foot  or  mule-back  can 
be  called  rushing.  The  steamers  were  crowded  with  emigrants,  and  soon  the  gold 
region  was  swarming  with  them.  Those  of  the  common  miners  first  in  the  field 
were  making  hundreds  of  dollars  a  day,  which  was  Fomething  extraordinary  and 
unprecedented.  By  February,  1850,  more  than  8,000  miners,  from  all  portions 
of  the  United  States,  were  in  the  field,  and  seventy  ships  were  being  made  ready 
for  California  trips.  Western  men  made  the  overland  trip,  across  the  plains, 
through  the  mountains,  on  foot  or  in  wagons.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  dol 
lars  were  in  store  in  San  Francisco.  More  than  400  vessels  were  floating  in-  the 
bay,  and  the  population  of  this  city  was  put  at  20,000.  From  these  small 
beginnings  grew  and  developed  an  empire  on  the  Pacific  coast. 

Of  the  host  of  hardy,  enterprising  men  who  flocked  to  her  from 'the  East  and 
from  foreign  lands,  in  1849  and  afterward,  many  returned,  some  of  them  rich  and 


110 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


some  very  poor,  while  a  large  number  remained,  to  dig  farther  for  gold  or  to  cul 
tivate  the  soil. 

But  with  the  founding  of  this  new  empire  there  arose  new  and  important 
political  issues.  Should  this  tract  of  California,  a  slice  of  Old  Mexico,  become 
free  soil  and  a  land  of  free  men  and  not  of  slaves?  It  is  true  that  the  line  of 
latitude  of  36°  30' — the  line  of  that  Missouri  Compromise — decided  this  and  set 
apart  the  territory  to  freedom,  but  imaginary  lines,  even  when  fixed  by  law  and 
by  the  consent  of  all  parties,  were  no  bar  to  pro-slavery  presumption. 

In  1846,  when  President  Polk  asked  for  $2,000,000  as  a  basis  for  the  nego 
tiation  of  peace,  David  Wilmot,  representative  in  Congress  from  Pennsylvania,  had 
moved  what  is  known  as  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  which  declared  that  it  should  be  a  con 
dition  to  the  acquisition  of  any  territory  from  Mexico  uthat  neither  slavery  nor 
involuntary  servitude  should  ever  exist  in  any  part  thereof,  except  for  crime, 
whereof,  the  party  should  be  duly  convicted."  At  two  different  times  this  com 
promise  was  adopted  in  the  House,  but  rejected  in  the  Senate.  An  appropriation 
of  $3,000,000  was  finally  passed  without  the  proviso,  but  the  proposed  measure 
had  made  David  Wilmot  famous  as  a  champion  of  free  soil.  The  principles  of 
the  Wilmot  Proviso  formed  the  foundation  of  a  new  political  movement. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SENATOR   DOUGLAS   AND    THE   KANSAS-NEBRASKA    BILL. 

£7  ROM  1849  to  1854  Mr.  Lincoln  was  engaged  in  the  work  of  his  profession  as  a 
1  lawyer.  Zachary  Taylor  was  inaugurated  president  March  4,  1849,  having 
been  elected  not  only  by  a  plurality,  but  by  a  majority,  of  the  vote  of  the  Electoral 
College,  although  some  southerners  had  voted  against  him  because  he  had  not 
come  out  squarely  in  favor  of  the  extension  of  slavery.  On  the  third  of  June, 
General  B.  Riley,  military  governor  of  California,  issued  a  call  for  a  convention 
of  the  people  of  California,  to  form  a  state  constitution.  This  convention  was 
held,  and  adopted  a  constitution,  by  the  terms  of  which  slavery  was  expressly 
prohibited.  President  Taylor  presented  the  constitution  to  Congress,  and  the 
representatives  of  the  new  state,  all  Democrats,  stood  knocking  at  the  door  for 
admission  to  the  Union  for  many  weary  months.  Had  Congress  been  faithful  to 
the  Missouri  Compromise,  California  would  have  been  admitted  at  once. 

A  matter  of  such  great  political  importance  could  not  fail  to  be  of  intense 
interest  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  to  ultimately  draw  him  from  his  law-books  and 
practice  into  the  political  arena. 

On  June  3,  1849,  Senator  Henry  Clay  submitted  the  basis  of  a  new  com 
promise,  which  seemed  to  him  to  be  necessary  to  the  solution  of  the  present 
difficulty,  and  his  proposition  had  the  support  of  the  greatest  statesmen  of  the 
day.  Mr.  Clay's  "Compromise  of  1850"  had  this  for  its  first  resolution: 

"That  California,  with  suitable  boundaries,  ought,  upon  her  application,  to 
be  admitted  as  one  of  the  states  of  this  Union,  without  the  imposition  by  Con 
gress  of  any  restriction  in  respect  to  the  exclusion  or  introduction  of  slavery 
within  those  boundaries." 

The  resolution  declared  that  it  was  inexpedient  to  abolish  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia;  but  that  it  was  expedient  to  prohibit  the  slave  trade  within 
the  District,  and  that  "  more  effectual  provision  ought  to  be  made  by  law,  accord 
ing  to  the  requirement  of  the  Constitution,  for  the  restitution  and  delivery  of 
persons  bound  to  service  or  labor,  in  any  state,  who  may  escape  into  any  other  state  or 
territory  in  the  Union."  After  much  discussion,  Senator  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  of 
Illinois,  reported  a  bill,  March  25,  1850,  for  the  admission  of  California  into  the 
Union,  and  also  one  to  establish  territorial  governments  for  Utah -and  New 
Mexico.  On  the  eighth  of  May  following,  Senator  Henry  Clay,  from  a  special 


112 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


committee,  presented  and  recommended  a  series  of  u bases"  for  a  " general  com 
promise.'1  This  report  was  similar  to  the  resolutions  already  alluded  to  as  hav 
ing  been  introduced  by  Mr.  Clay;  but  it  provided,  al^o,  for  ''the  establishment 
of  territorial  governments  for  New  Mexico  and  Utah,  without  the  Wilmot  Pro- 
viso"  and  prohibited  the  slave  trade,  but  did  not  abolish  slavery,  in  the  District 
of  Columbia.  Finally,  in  August,  the  Senate  passed  a  bill  providing  for  the 
admission  of  California  as  a  state  without  slavery,  and  on  the  admission  of  New 
Mexico  and  Utah  as  territories  without  restriction,  and  these,  and  other  bills 

suggested  by  Mr.  Clay  in  his 
compromise,  passed  both 
Houses  and  became  laws. 

On  January  23,  1854, 
Senator  Douglas  surprised 
both  his  friends  and  oppo 
nents  by  presenting  a  bill  for 
the  admission  of  two  tracts 
lying  between  parallels  36° 
30;  on  the  south,  and  43°  30' 
on  the  north  as  territories, 
one  to  be  called  Kansas  and 
the  other  Nebraska,  the  bill 
providing  that  "  all  questions 
peri aining  to  slavery  in  the 
territories,  and  in  the  new 
states  to  be  formed  therefrom, 
be  left  to  the  people  residing 
therein" 

Mr.  Douglas  afterward 
moved  an  amendment,  stat 
ing  that  it  was  the  true  intent 
and  meaning  of  the  act  "not 
to  legislate  slavery  into  any 
territory  or  state,  nor  to 
exclude  it  therefrom,  but  to 
leave  the  people  thereof  per 
fectly  free  to  form  and  regulate  their  domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way,  subject 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States."  This  represented  the  political  doctrine 
of  "squatter  sovereignty"  that  was  so  frequently  and  earnestly  exploited  by  Mr. 
Douglas,  and  so  vehemently  attacked  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  debates  which  followed. 
Indeed,  this  action  by  Douglas  struck  Lincoln  with  amazement.  His  bill,  in 
becoming  a  law,  repealed  the  very  Missouri  Compromise  which  Douglas  had 
declared  "to  be  sacred,"  and  a  law  which  "no  human  hand  should  destroy." 

A  law  for  the  recovery  of  fugitive  slaves  from   free  territory,  passed  in  1850, 
had  been  the  means  of  causing  universal  excitement  and  commotion  throughout 


EDWARD   I).    BAKER. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


113 


the  North.  The  law  was  but  a  twin  to  the  compromise  measure  adopkd  1  he- 
same  year.  The  efforts  of  slaveholders  to  capture  their  slaves  created  great 
indignation  everywhere  that  an  attempt  was  made  to  enforce  it. 

Unnecessary  brutality  was  frequently  shown  by  the  slave-catchers,  and  the 
sympathies  of  the  people  in  the  North  were  aroused  in  behalf  of  the  fugitives. 
In  many  instances  popular  feeling  and  excitement  were  at  the  highest  pitch. 
The  slave-catchers  continued  their  work  during  the  period  reaching  from  1850  to 
the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion.  In  some  instances,  the  pursuers  and  capturers 
of  slaves  were  themselves 
arrested  for  kidnapping,  and 
were  glad  to  relinquish  their 
claims  to  secure  their  own 
freedem. 

Franklin  Pierce,  of  New 
Hampshire,  was  president, 
in  1854,  when  Douglas1 
Kansas- Nebraska  Bill  was 
passed,  and  he  was  in  full 
sympathy  with  the  distin 
guished  senator. 

This  bill  passed  the  Sen 
ate  March  3,  1854.  It  is  a 
singular  fact  that  Sam 
Houston,  the  man  who  had 
been  the  leader  in  achieving 
the  independence  of  Texas, 
and  who  represented  thai 
state  in  the  Senate,  voted 
against  the  bill,  and  in  the 
closing  portion  of  his  speech 
used  the  language  given 
below.  Pointing  to  the 
eagle,  he  said : 

uYon  proud  symbol 
above  your  head  remains 

enshrouded  in  black,  as  if  deploring  the  misfortune  that  has  fallen  upon  us, 
and  as  a  fearful  omen  of  the  future  calamities  which  await  our  nation  in  the 
event  that  this  bill  becomes  a  law." 

Here  spoke  another  prophet! 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  venerable  statesman,  Thomas  H.  Ben- 
ton,  of  Missouri,  at  this  time  a  member  of  the  House,  most  vigorously  opposed 
the  passage  of  the  bill.  Mr.  Benton,  although  living  in  a  slave  state,  was  indig 
nant  at  the  u  violation  of  the  compact,'1  foreseeing  very  clearly,  as.did  Senator 
Houston,  the  danger  that  would  follow.  But  the  bill  passed  the  House  May  8, 


HOWELL    t'OBB. 


114  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

1854,  and  it  was  a  foregone  conclusion  that  Pierce  would  sign  it  and  make  it  a 
law.  The  friends  of  slavery,  and  especially  of  slavery  extension,  were  in  trans 
ports  of  delight.  Cannon  were  fired  from  Capitol  Hill,  and  demonstrations  of 
rejoicing  were  made  in  various  portions  of  the  South.  The  friends  of  freedom 
everywhere  felt  that  a  great  wrong  and  outrage  had  been  committed.  Douglas 
was  denounced  in  all  portions  of  the  North  as  a  betrayer  of  a  sacred  trust,  and  the 
charge  was  freely  made  that  the  presidential  bee  buzzing  in  his  ears  had  drawn 
his  attention  from  the  peculiar  political  enormity  of  his  conduct.  He  had  been 
the  leader  in  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  as  he  had  previously  been 
one  of  the  loudest  in  its  praise;  consequently,  his  apparent  sacrifice  of  principle 
was  supposed  to  have  for  its  object  the  promotion  of  his  own  political  aspirations. 

There  was  at  once  organized  by  the  slaveholders  a  scheme  to  colonize  and 
occupy  the  southern  portion  of  this  territory,  called  Kansas,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  it  a  slave  state.  But  the  friends  of  freedom,  fully  awake  to  the  impor- 
tan$e  of  the  crisis,  determined  that  it  should  be  free. 

Armed  bodies  of  slaveholders  crossed  the  line  of  Missouri,  and  proceeded  to 
make  settlements;  but  what  were  called  u free-state'1  men  were  also  on  the  march. 
There  were  two  lines  of  emigrants,  from  the  two  sections  of  the  country.  The 
free-state  emigrants  took  farming  tools,  Bibles,  hymn-books,  and  Sharp's  rifles, 
for  which  they  afterward  found  good  use.  John  Brown,  who  soon  became  known 
as  Ossawatomie  Brown,  and  afterward  attempted  to  create  a  revolution  which 
should  free  the  slaves,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  was  hanged,  at  Charleston,  Virginia, 
December  2,  1859,  was  one  of  the  leaders.  Charles  Robinson,  afterward  gov 
ernor,  and  Messrs.  Pomeroy  and  Lane,  afterward  generals,  were  prominent  in  the 
movement.  The  whole  country  was  in  a  state  of  excitement.  The  new  emigrants 
had  the  sympathy  of  millions  behind  them.  They  were  sustained  by  the  money 
as  well  as  the  moral  support  of  the  great  commonwealths  north  of  Mason  and 
Dixon's  line.  A  national  society  was  formed  in  Massachusetts  to  aid  the  free-state 
men,  and  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  member  of  the  executive  committee.  Through 
out  the  greater  portion  of  this  period  Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  engaged  assiduously 
in  the  practise  of  his  profession,  but  he  was  now  called  from  his  retirement  to 
take  a  most  prominent  part  in  the  great  events  which  were  to  bring  about  a 
revolutionary  change  in  the  political  and  moral  conditions  of  the  country. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

LINCOLN'S  MOST  FAMOUS  LAW-CASES. 

IN  the  meantime,  Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  developing  his  legal  talents  and 
spreading  his  fame  as  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  the  West.  In  a  reaper  patent 
case,  tried  in  Cincinnati  in  1857,  between  Cyrus  McCormick  and  Mr.  Manny, 
McCormick  employed  the  famous  Reverdy  Johnson,  of  Baltimore,  and  Manny  had 
secured  the  services  of  George  Harding,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Abraham  Lincoln. 
Afterward  Manny  employed  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  of  Steubenville,  Ohio.  Lincoln 
had  prepared  himself  with  great  care,  as  usual,  and  was  ready  for  his  task. 
Judge  John  McLean  presided.  Manny's  three  attorneys  met  to  consult  as  to  the 
management  of  the  case.  Judge  Herndon  describes  this  episode  as  follows: 

U0nly  two  of  them  could  be  heard  by  the  court.  Mr.  Harding,  by  mutual 
consent,  was  to  present  the  mechanical  features  of  the  invention.  Who  should 
present  the  legal  points,  Lincoln  or  Stanton?  By  custom  it  was  Lincoln's  right. 
He  was  prepared;  Stanton  was  not.  'You  will  speak,  of  course,'  said  Stanton. 
4 No,  you,'  the  courteous  reply.  'I  will,'  the  answer,  and  Mr.  Stanton  abruptly 
and  discourteously  left  the  room.  He  had  taken  a  great  dislike  to  Lincoln,  who 
overheard  him  in  an  adjoining  room  say  to  a  friend,  '  Where  did  such  a  lank 
creature  come  from?  His  linen  duster  is  blotched  on  his  back  with  perspiration 
and  dust,  so  that  you  might  use  it  for  a  map  of  the  continent.'" 

This  was  the  first  meeting  of  two  great  men,  afterward  to  be  very  closely 
united  in  the  service  of  their  country.  Lincoln  felt  the  indignity,  but  history 
shows  very  plainly  that  he  never  bore  any  malice  toward  the  great  war  secretary 
of  1861. 

One  of  the  most  notable  of  Lincoln's  law-cases  was  that  in  which  he  defended 
William  D.  Armstrong,  charged  with  murder.  The  case  was  one  which  was 
watched  during  its  progress  with  intense  interest,  and  it  had  a  most  dramatic 
ending.  The  defendant  was  the  son  of  Jack  and  Hannah  Armstrong.  The 
father  was  dead,  but  Hannah,  who  had  been  very  motherly  and  helpful  to  Lincoln 
during  his  life  at  New  Salem,  was  still  living,  and  asked  Lincoln  to  defend  him. 
Young  Armstrong  had  been  a  wild  lad,  and  was  often  in  bad  company.  One 
night,  in  company  with  a  lot  of  other  wild  fellows,  he  went  to  a  camp-meeting. 
Rowdies  tried  to  disturb  and  break  up  the  meeting,  and  a  row  ensued  in  which  a 
man  was  killed.  It  was  charged  that  Armstrong  was  the  murderer,  and  he  was 

115 


116 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


placed  in  prison.  Lincoln  responded  as  follows  to  Hannah  Armstrong's  request 
for  legal  advice  and  aid: 

SPRINGFIELD,  ILLINOIS,  September  18 — . 

DEAR  MRS.  ARMSTRONG: — I  have  just  beard  of  your  deep  affliction,  and  the  arrest  of 
your  son  for  murder.  I  can  hardly  believe  that  he  can  be  guilty  of  the  crime  alleged 
against  him.  It  does  not  seem  possible.  I  am  anxious  that  he  should  have  a  fair  trial,  at 
any  rate;  and  gratitude  for  your  long-continued  kindness  to  me  in  adverse  circumstances 
prompts  me  to  offer  my  humble  services  gratuitously  in  his  behalf.  It  will  afford  me  an 
opportunity  to  requite,  in  a  small  degree,  the  favors  I  received  at  your  hand,  and  that  of 

your  lamented  husband,  when 
your  roof  afforded  mo  grateful 
shelter,  without  money  and 
without  price. 

Yours  truly, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"    X  «. 

The  case  came  on  for  trial 
in  1858,  only  two  years  be 
fore  Lincoln  was  nominated 
for  the  presidency,  and  it 
was  exploited  very  widely  in 
the  campaign.  A  man  by 
the  name  of  Morris  was 
arrested  with  him,  convicted, 
and  sent  to  the  penitentiary. 
Judge  Arnold  says:  "The 
evidence  against  Bill  was 
very  strong.  Indeed,  the 
case  for  the  defense  looked 
hopeless.  Several  witnesses 
swore  positively  to  his 
guilt.  The  strongest  ev 
idence  was  that  of  a  man 
who  swore  that  at  eleven 
o'clock  at  night  he  saw  Arm 
strong  strike  the  deceased 
on  the  head;  that  the  moon 

was  shining  brightly  and  was  nearly  full,  and  that  its  position  in  the  sky 
was  just  about  that  of  the  sun  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  that  by  it  he 
saw  Armstrong  give  the  mortal  blow.  This  was  fatal,  unless  the  effect  could  be 
broken  by  contradiction  or  impeachment.  Lincoln  quietly  looked  up  an  alma 
nac,  and  found  that,  at  the  time  this,  the  principal  witness,  declared  the  moon 
to  have  been  shining  with  full  light,  there  was  no  moon  at  all.  There  were  some 
contradictory  statements  made  by  other  witnesses,  but  on  the  whole  the  case 
seemed  almost  hopeless.  Mr.  Lincoln  made  the  closing  argument.  'At  first,' 
says  Mr.  Walker,  one  of  the  counsel  associated  with  him,  'he  spoke  slowly  and 


ROBERT  TOOMBS. 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN.  117 

carefully,  reviewed  the  testimony,  and  pointed  out  its  contradictions,  discrep 
ancies  and  impossibilities.  When  he  had  thus  prepared  the  way.  he  called  for 
the  almanac,  and  showed  that,  at  the  hour  at  which  the  principal  witness  swore 
he  had  seen,  by  the  light  of  the  full  moon,  the  mortal  blow  given,  there  was  no 
moon  at  all.' 

"This  was  the  climax  of  the  argument,  and,  of  course,  utterly  disposed  of  the 
prin cipal  witness.  But  it  was  Lincoln's  eloquence  which  saved  Bill  Armstrong. 
His  closing  appeal  must  have  been  irresistible.  His  associate  says:  'The  last 
fifteen  minutes  of  his  speech  was  as  eloquent  as  I  ever  heard.  .  .  .  The 
jury  sat  as  if  entranced,  and  when  he  was  through,  found  relief  in  a  gush  of 
tears/  One  of  the  prosecuting  attorneys  says:  "He  took  the  jury  by  storm. 
.  .  .  There  were  tears  in  Lincoln's  eyes  while  he  spoke,  but  they  were 
genuine.  .  .  .  I  have  said  an  hundred  times  that  it  was  Lincoln's  speech 
that  saved  that  criminal  from  the  gallows.'  .  .  .  The  jury  in  this  case  knew 
and  loved  Lincoln,  and  they  could  not  resist  him.  He  told  the  anxious  mother, 
4  Your  son  will  be  cleared  before  sundown.'  When  Lincoln  closed,  and  while  the 
state's  attorney  was  attempting  to  reply,  she  left  the  court-room,  and  'went  down 
to  Thompson's  pasture,'  where,  all  alone,  she  remained  awaiting  the  result.  Her 
anxiety  may  be  imagined,  but  before  the  sun  went  down  that  day,  Lincoln's 
me.vsi»nger  brought  to  her  the  joyful  tidings,  'Bill  is  free.  Your  son  is  cleared.1 
For  all  of  this  Lincoln  would  accept  nothing  but  thanks/' 

Another  biographer,  M.  Louise  Putnam,  says: 

''The  jury  retired,  and  at  the  expiration  of  half  an  hour  returned  with  the 
verdict,  'Not  guilty.' 

"'The  poor  widow  dropped  into  the  arms  of  her  son.  who,  tenderly  supporting 
her,  told  her  to  behold  him  free  and  innocent.  Then  crying  out,  '  Where  is  Mr. 
Lincoln?'  he  rushed  across  the  court-room  and  grasped  his  deliverer's  hand  with 
out  uttering  a  word:  his  emotion  was  so  great  he  could  not  speak.  Mr.  Lincoln 
pointed  to  the  west,  and  said,  'It  is  not  yet  sundown,  and  you  are  free?" 

Mr.  Gr.  W.  Harris,  from  whose  personal  letter  we  have  previously  quoted 
(page  100),  says:  "Under  no  circumstances  would  he,  as  an  attorney,  take  a 
case  he  knew  to  be  wrong.  Every  possible  means  was  used  to  get  at  the  truth 
before  he  would  undertake  a  case.  More  cases,  by  his  advice,  were  settled  with 
out  trial  than  he  carried  into  the  courts;  and  that,  too,  without  charge.  When,  on 
one  occasion,  I  suggested  he  ought  to  make  a  charge  in  such  cases,  he  laugh 
ingly  answered,  'They  wouldn't  want  to  pay  me.  They  don't  think  I  have  earned 
a  fee  unless  I  take  the  case  into  court,  and  make  a  speech  or  two/  When 
trivial  cases  were  brought  to  him,  such  as  would  most  probably  be  carried  no 
farther  than  a  magistrate's  office,  and  he  could  not  induce  a  settlement  with 
out  a  trial,  he  would  generally  refer  them  to  some  young  attorney,  for  whom 
he  would  speak  a  good  word  at  the  same  time.  He  was  ever  kind  and  courteous 
to  these  young  beginners  when  he  was  the  opposing  counsel.  He  had  a  happy 
knack  of  setting  them  at  their  ease  and  encouraging  them.  The  consequence 
was,  he  was  the  favorite  of  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him.  When  his 


118  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

heart  was  in  a  case  he  was  a  powerful  advocate.  I  have  heard  more  than  one 
attorney  say  that  it  was  little  use  to  expect  a  favorable  verdict  in  any  case  where 
Lincoln  was  opposing  counsel,  as  his  simple  statements  of  the  facts  had  more 
weight  with  the  jury  than  those  of  the  witnesses. 

uAs  a  student  (if  such  a  term  could  be  applied  to  Mr.  Lincoln),  one  who  did 
not  know  him  might  have  called  him  indolent.  He  would  pick  up  a  book  and 
run  rapidly  over  the  pages,  pausing  here  and  there.  At  the  end  of  an  hour — 
never,  as  I  remember,  more  than  two  or  three  hours — he  would  close  the  book, 
stretch  himself  out  on  the  office  lounge,  and  then,  with  hands  under  his  head 
arid  eyes  shut,  would  digest  the  mental  food  he  had  just  taken.  Once,  in  dis 
cussing  the  probabilities  of  his  nomination  for  Congress,  I  remarked  that  there 
was  so  much  unfairness,  if  not  downright  trickery,  used  that  it  appeared  to 
me  almost  useless  to  seek  a  nomination  without  resort  to  similar  means.  His 
reply  was:  'I  want  to  be  nominated;  I  would  like  to  go  to  Congress;  but  if  I 
cannot  do  so  by  fair  means,  I  prefer  to  stay  at  home.'  He  was  nominated,  and 
in  the  following  fall  was  elected  by  a  majority  over  three  times  as  large  as  the 
district  had  ever  before  given.1' 

Mr.  Lincoln  always  regarded  himself  as  the  friend  and  protector  of  unfor 
tunate  clients,  and  such  he  would  never  press  for  pay  for  his  services.  A  client 
named  Cogdal  was  unfortunate  in  business,  and  gave  a  note  in  settlement  of 
legal  fees.  Soon  afterward  he  met  with  an  accident  by  which  he  lost  a  hand. 
Meeting  Mr.  Lincoln  some  time  after  on  the  steps  of  the  state-house,  the  kind 
lawyer  asked  him  how  he  was  getting  along.  "  Badly  enough,"  replied  Mr. 
Cogdal;  "I  am  both  broken  up  in  business  and  crippled."  Then  he  added,  UI 
have  been  thinking  about  that  note  of  yours."  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  had  probably 
known  all  about  Mr.  Cogdal's  troubles,  and  had  prepared  himself  for  the  meet 
ing,  took  out  his  pocket-book,  and  saying,  with  a  laugh,  "Well,  you  needn't 
think  any  more  about  it,"  handed  him  the  note.  Mr.  Cogdal  protesting,  Mr. 
Lincoln  said,  "Even  if  you  had  the  money,  I  would  not  take  it,"  and  hurried  away. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  once  associate  counsel  for  a  defendant  in  a  murder  case. 
He  listened  to  the  testimony  given  by  witness  after  witness  against  his  client, 
until  his  honest  heart  could  stand  it  no  longer;  then,  turning  to  his  associate, 
he  said:  "The  man  is  guilty;  you  defend  him — I  can't,1'  and  when  his  associate 
secured  a  verdict  of  acquittal,  Lincoln  refused  to  share  the  fee  to  the  extent  of 
one  cent. 

Mr.  Lincoln  would  never  advise  clients  into  unwise  or  unjust  lawsuits, 
always  preferring  to  refuse  a  retainer  rather  than  be  a  party  to  a  case  which 
did  not  commend  itself  to  his  sense  of  justice. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

BIRTH   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN    PARTY — THE   STRUGGLE   IN   KANSAS. 

NATHANIEL  P.  BANKS,  of  Massachusetts,  a  friend  of  free  soil,  was  chosen 
speaker  of  the  national  House  of  Representatives  in  1855,  over  Aiken,  of 
South  Carolina.  The  revolution  of  public  sentiment  was  still  in  progress  in  the 
North.  The  course  of  the  Democrats  in  Congress  had  alienated  many  distin 
guished  men  of  the  party,  among  them  Martin  Van  Buren  and  his  witty  and 
eloquent  son,  John.  The  seceders  in  New  York  state  were  known  as  barn-burners, 
and  they  first  materialized  in  a  convention  held  at  Buffalo — which  convention, 
however,  was  really  national  in  its  scope.  The  friends  of  freedom  began  to  call 
themselves  Republicans,  and  the  Republican  party  was  born  February  22,  1856. 
It  was  a  notable  and  most  enthusiastic  gathering.  On  May  29th,  in  the  same 
year,  a  convention  composed  of  the  representatives  of  the  people  of  Illinois,  who 
were  opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery,  was  held  at  Bloomington,  and  here, 
Judge  Arnold  declares,  u  the  Republican  party  was  organized."  The  conven 
tion  was  composed  of  both  Democrats  and  Whigs — partizans  who  had  never 
acted  together  before.  The  members  of  the  committee  on  resolutions  were 
unable  to  agree,  and  the  representative  man  of  Illinois,  Abraham  Lincoln,  was 
sent  for  Judge  Arnold  says: 

"He  [Lincoln]  suggested  that  all  could  unite  on  the  principles  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  and  hostility  to  the  extension  of  slavery.  'Let  us,' 
said  he,  'in  building  our  new  party,  make  our  corner-stone  the  Declaration  of 
Independence — let  us  build  on  this  rock,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  us.11  The  problem  was  mastered,  and  the  convention  adopted  the  fol 
lowing: 

"Resolved,  That  we  hold,  in  accordance  with  the  opinions  and  practices  of  all 
the  great  statesmen  of  all  parties  for  the  first  sixty  years  of  the  administration 
of  the  government,  that,  under  the  Constitution,  Congress  possesses  full  power 
to  prohibit  slavery  in  the  territories;  and  that  while  we  will  maintain  all  consti 
tutional  rights  of  the  South,  we  also  hold  that  justice,  humanity,  the  principles 
of  freedom,  as  expressed  in  our  Declaration  of  Independence  and  our  national 
Constitution,  and,  the  purity  and  perpetuity  of  our  government  require  that  that 
power  should  be  exerted  to  prevent  the  extension  of  slavery  into  territories  here 
tofore  free. 

119 


120 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


"Thus  was  organized  the  party  which,  against  the  potent  influence  of  Dcug- 
las,  revolutionized  the  state  of  Illinois,  and  elected  Lincoln  to  the  presidency. 
Lincoln's  speech  to  this  convention  has  rarely  been  equaled.  'Never,1  says  one 
of  the  delegates,  'was  an  audience  more  completely  electrified  by  human 
eloquence.  Again  and  again  during  the  delivery  the  audience  sprang  to  their 
feet,  and  by  long-continued  cheers,  expressed  how  deeply  the  speaker  had  roused 
them.  It  fused  the  mass  of  incongruous  elements  into  haiir.ony  and  union. 
"Delegates  were  appointed  to  the  national  convention,  which  was  to  meet  in 

Philadelphia,  to  nominate 
candidates  for  president  and 
vice-president.'' 

In  June,  1856,  the  first 
nominating  convention  of 
the  Republican  party  was 
held  at  Philadelphia.  John 
C.  Fremont  was  named  for 
the  presidency,  and  William 
L.  Dayton  for  the  vice- 
presidency.  Abraham  Lin 
coln's  Bloomington  "  plank  " 
was  accepted  as  the  chief 
portion  of  the  platform 
adopted,  and  it  became 
apparent  that,  as  Lincoln 
was  already  the  leader  of  the 
new  party  in  the  Noithwe>t, 
he  was  to  become  the  leader 
of  the  free-soil  sentiment 
throughout  the  nation. 

The  Democrats  met  at 
Cincinnati  on  the  second  of 
June,  and  on  the  sixteenth 
ballot  nominated  James 
Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania, 
for  the  presidency,  and  John 
0.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  for  the  vice-presidency.  The  convention  refused 
to  nominate  the  aspiring  Douglas,  but  it  "indorsed  the  compromise  measures  of 
1850  and  Douglas'  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill." 

The  Whigs  of  the  South  and  certain  conservative  Whigs  of  the  North,  who 
were  popularly  called  the  "Silver  Grays,"  nominated  Millard  Fill  more  for  the 
presidency. 

There  was  now  a  clear  understanding  of  the  great  political  issue  of  the  day, 
and  a  hard-fought  campaign  followed.  At  one  time  it  seemed  likely  that  Fre 
mont  and  Dayton  would  be  elected.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  constantly  speaking, 


R.    BARNWELL    R1IETT. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  121 

and   with  great  effect,  but  finally    Buchanan    managed    to    carry  the  doubtful 
states  of  Pennsylvania  and  Indiana,  and  the  contest  was  virtually  ended. 

Buchanan  was  elected,  receiving  in  the  electoral  college  172  votes,  Fremont 
receiving  114,  and  Fillmore  those  to  which  Maryland  was  entitled. 

Meanwhile  the  struggle  in  Kansas  continued.  The  pro-slavery  men  had 
formed  at  Locompton  a  constitution  which  was  designed  to  make  of  Kansas  a 
slave  state.  The  free-soil  advocates  adopted  a  free-state  constitution  at  Topeka. 
This  was  submitted  to  the  people  and  adopted.  Thus  was  the  issue  clearly 
defined;  the  friends  of  the  two  constitutions  came  into  collision,  and  in  Kansas 
the  civil  war  was  virtually  begun. 

In  1856,  Congress  appointed  an  investigating  committee,  of  which  John  Sher 
man,  of  Ohio,  was  a  member.  This  committee  did  thorough  and  exhaustive  work, 
and  finally  reported  that  "every  election  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  United 
States  officials  had  been  controlled,  not  by  actual  settlers,  but  by  non-residents 
from  Missouri,  and  that  every  officer  in  the  territory  owed  his  election  to  these 
non-residents.1' 

Meanwhile  the  free-state  officers  had  been  arrested,  and  the  free-state  legisla 
tion  dispersed  byk'the  regular  army  of  the  United  States,  acting  under  orders 
of  the  president.  It  was  thus  that  Kansas  was  to  be  brought  into  the  Union  as 
a  slave  state."  [Herndon.] 

Buchanan,  very  naturally,  sent  a  message  to  Congress,  December  9,  1857, 
asking  that  body  to  admit  Kansas,  with  its  fraudulent  slave-state  constitution. 
The  personal  friends  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  were  surprised  and  glad  to  see  him 
at  once  announce  his  condemnation  of  the  proposal.  One  of  his  ablest  and  most 
commendable  speeches  was  made  on  this  occasion.  "  Why,1'  said  he,  "force  this 
constitution  down  the  throats  of  the  people  in  opposition  to  their  wishes,  and  in 
violation  of  our  pledges?  .  .  .  The  people  want  a  fair  vote,  and  will  never  be 
satisfied  without  it.  ...  If  it  is  to  be  forced  upon  the  people,  under  a 
submission  that  is  a  mockery  and  an  insult,  I  will  resist  it  to  the  last." 

Buchanan  remonstrated  with  Mr.  Douglas,  and  proceeded  to  warn  him  of 
personal  consequences.  Recalling  the  fact  that  the  senator  had  always  been 
an  admirer  of  General  Jackson,  Buchanan,  the  time-server,  said: 

"You  are  an  ambitious  man,  Mr.  Douglas,  and  there  is  a  brilliant 
future  for  you,  if  you  retain  the  confidence  of  the  Democratic  party;  if  you 
oppose  it,  let  me  remind  you  of  the  fate  of  those  who  in  former  times  rebelled 
against  it.  Remember  the  fate  of  Senators  Rives  and  Talmadge,  who  opposed 
General  Jackson,  when  he  removed  the  government  deposits  from  the  United 
States  bank.  Beware  of  their  fate,  Mr.  Douglas." 

"  Mr.  President."  said  Douglas,  "  General  Jackson  is  dead.    Good-morning,  sir!" 

The  celebrated  decision  in  the  Dred  Scott  case  was  most  important,  and  had 
great  influence  on  public  sentiment.  The  decision  was  made  by  the  Supreme 
Court  early  in  Mr.  Buchanan's  administration. 

Drei  Scott  had  been  one  of  the  slaves  of  Dr.  Emerson,  of  Missouri,  a  United 
armv  sureon.     Emerson  moved  first  to  Rock  Island,  Tllinoi<Onnd  then  to 


122 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Fort  Spelling,  Minnesota,  at  which  latter  place,  in  183G,  Scott  was  married  to  a 
negro  woman  whom  Emerson  had  bought.  After  the  birth  of  two  children  all 
the  family  were  taken  back  to  St.  Louis  and  sold.  Dred  brought  suit  for  his 
freedom,  and  after  the  Circuit  and  Supreme  Courts  of  Missouri  had  heard  the 
case,  it  was,  in  May,  1854,  appealed  to  the  United  States  Supreme  Court.  The 
decision  read  by  Chief-justice  Taney  held  that  "negroes,  whether  free  or  slaves, 
were  not  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  could  not  become  such  by  any  2>rocess 
known  to  the  Constitution;"  that  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States  ua  negro 

could  neither  sue  nor  be 
sued,  and  therefore  the  court 
had  no  jurisdiction  over 
Dred  Scott's  cause;"  that  ua 
slave  was  to  be  regarded  in 
the  light  of  a  personal  chat 
tel,  and  might  be  removed 
from  place  to  place  by  his 
owner  as  any  other  piece  of 
property;"  that  -"the  Con 
stitution  gave  to  every  slave 
holder  the  right  of  removing 
to  or  through  any  state  or 
territory  with  his  slaves,  and 
of  returning  at  his  will  with 
them  to  a  state  where  slavery 
was  recognized  by  law;  and 
that  therefore  the  Missouri 
Compromis'e  of  1820  and  the 
compromise  measures  of  1850 
were  unconstitutional  and 
void." 

Judge  Taney  did  not  an 
nounce  this  decision  because 
he  wished  to  of  his  own 

JOTTN  BROWN.  accord,  but  he  was  pursued 

and  hounded  on  by  the  cham 
pions  of  slavery  until  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  was  forced  to  it.  Retiring  to  his 
home  after  the  act,  he  fell  on  the  neck  of  his  black  body-servant,  and  declared 
that  he  was  a  ruined  man. 

Six  of  the  associate  justices — Wayne,  Nelson,  Grier,  Daniel,  Campbell  and 
Cafcron — concurred,  but  Judges  McLean  and  Curtis  dissented.  The  president  had 
hoped  that  this  would  allay  the  excitement,  but  it  had  a  contrary  effect.  The 
South  affected  satisfaction,  but  the  free-soil  party  became  exasperated,  and  the 
passage  of  personal  liberty  bills  resulted  in  several  of  the  antislavery  states. 
By  means  of  the  enactment  of  these  measures  the  efforts  of  the  slave-e;itch^rs 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


123 


were  often  thwarted — conspicuously  so  in  the  noted  Oberlin- Wellington  case,  in 
Ohio,  where  a  slave  was  taken  from  a  sheriff  and  spirited  away.  It  is  true  that 
Professor  Peck,  J.  M.  Fitch,  Simeon  Bushnell  and  others  were  kept  in  jail  in 
Cleveland  for  months,  and  tried  for  their  "crime,"  but  they  were  finally  released 
by  the  prosecutor,  under  state  law. 

John  Brown's  raid  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia,  October  16,  1859,  was  the 
next  excitement  for  the  slave  states.  The  details  of  the  daring  attempt,  its 
failure  and  the  trial,  condemnation  and  execution  of  John  Brown  and  six  of  his 


JAMES   BUCHANAN. 

companions,  are  incidents  too  well  and  widely  known  to  justify  recapitulation 
here.  This  affair,  and  the  rapid  growth  of  the  Free-Soil  party  in  Kansas,  while 
widening  the  breach  between  North  and  South,  threw  into  the  nineteenth  pres 
idential  election  campaign  of  1860  the  apple  of  discord  destined  to  precipitate  the 
clash  of  arms. 

A  United  States  senator  was  to  be  chosen  in  Illinois,  in  1854,  to  take  the 
place  of  Senator  Shields.  Lincoln  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  campaign. 
Douglas  was  the  champion  of  u  popular,"  or  "  squatter,"  sovereignty.  Lincoln 


124 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


met  Douglas  on  two  occasions  before  the  people.  The  first  time  was  at  a  meet 
ing  of  the  state  fair,  at  Springfield,  on  October  4th.  Lincoln  had  great  vantage- 
ground,  Douglas  having  proved  recreant  to  his  former  principles,  so  solemnly 
announced  by  him.  He  said:  uMy  distinguished  friend  says  it  is  an  insult  to  the 
emigrants  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  to  suppose  that  they  are  not  able  to  govern 
themselves.  We  must  not  slur  over  an  argument  of  this  kind  because  it 
happens  to  tickle  the  ear.  It  must  be  met  and  answered.  I  admit  that  the 
emigrant  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  is  competent  to  govern  himself,  but  1  deny  his 

right  to  govern  any  other 
person  without  that  person's 
consent."  The  two  oppo 
nents  met  again  in  Peoria. 
When  the  Legislature  con 
vened,  Lincoln  gave  way  to 
Lyman  Trumbull,  who  was 
elected  senator. 

Early  in  June,  1857, 
Douglas  made  his  famous 
speech  in  Springfield,  in 
which  he  declared  that  he 
meant  to  sustain  all  the 
acts  of  what  was  called  the 
Lecompton  convention,  even 
though  a  pro-slavery  consti 
tution  should  be  formed. 
He  further  expressed  his 
approval  of  the  Dred  Scott 
decision  in  this  same  speech. 
Lincoln  replied  to  him 
at  Springfield  two  weeks 
later.  He  defended  the 
course  of  action  which  the 
Republicans  of  Kansas  had 
adopted  in  behalf  of  free 
territory.  This  was  but  a 

sorb  of  prelude  to  the  famous  senatorial  contest  between  Douglas  and  Lincoln 
the  next  year.  The  measure  known  as  the  English  Bill  was  made  a  law  April 
30,  1858. 

Douglas1  term  was  on  the  eve  of  expiring,  and  he  returned  to  Illinois,  after 
the  adjournment  of  Congress.  He  had  come  in  open  contact  with  the  adminis 
tration  through  his  course  on  the  Lecompton  Bill,  and  had  really  made  himself 
quite  popular  with  the  Republicans  of  Illinois,  some  of  whom  were  inclined  to 
think  it  would  not  be  wise  to  oppose  his  re-election.  But  they  knew  that  he  was  in 
no  sense  a  Republican,  and  that  he  had  declared  he  "did  not  care  whether  slavery 


CHIEF-JUSTICE   TANEY. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


125 


was  voted  down  or  not."  Abraham  Lincoln  was  nominated  as  a  candidate  for 
Douglas'  place  in  the  Senate,  June  17,  1858.  Mr.  Douglas  had  already  been 
indorsed  and  "virtually  renoruinated "  by  the  Democratic  state  convention. 

Lincoln  delivered  his  first  speech  in  Chicago,  July  9th,  and  Douglas  said 
of  it  that  it  was  "well  prepared  and  carefully  written."  We  quote  from  the 
first  paragraph  of  a  speech  made  by  Lincoln  at  Springfield,  as  follows: 

"If  we  could  first  know  where  we  are,  and  whither  we  are  tending,  we  could 
better  judge  what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it.  We  are  now  far  into  the  fifth  year 
since  a  policy  was  initiated  with  the  avowed  object  and  confident  promise  of 
putting  an  end  to  slavery  agitation.  Under  the  operation  of  that  policy  that 


INTERIOR    OF    SENATE    CHAMBER. 

agitation  has  not  only  not  ceased,  but  has  constantly  augmented.  In  my  opinion, 
it  will  not  cease  until  a  crisis  shall  have  been  reached  and  passed.  'A  house 
divided  against  itself  cannot  stand.'  I  believe  this  government  cannot  endure 
permanently  half  slave  and  half  free." 

After  several  speeches  had  been  made  by  each  gentleman,  Lincoln  addressed 
a  letter  to  Douglas  challenging  him  to  a.  series  of  debates  during  the  campaign. 
The  challenge  was  accepted,  and  arrangements  were  made  by  which  Douglas 
was  to  have  four  opening  and  closing  speeches  to  Lincoln's  three,  Lincoln 
not  objecting  to  the  disparity. 

Most  persons  have  forgotten  or  never  knew  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  once  before 
been  a  candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate  in  the  early  weeks  of  "1855.  The 


126 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Senate  chamber  had  long  been  the  goal  of  his  ambition.  The  situation  in 
the  Illinois  Legislature  was  at  that  period  a  peculiar  one.  The  Democrats  then 
as  for  years  before  and  years  later,  idolizing  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  were  in  a 
minority  in  the  legislature.  The  majority  consisted  of  old-line  Whigs,  rein 
forced  by  quite  a  number  of  anti-Nebraska  Democrats.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  the 
nominee  of  the  former,  but  a  clique  of  anti-Nebraska  Democrats  held  out  with 
what  was  considered  unreasonable  obstinacy  against  his  election.  In  this  dilemma 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  consulted,  and  with  the  unselfishness  that  always  character 
ized  his  life,  he  said,  unhesitatingly,  u  You  had  better  drop  me  and  vote  for  Mr. 
Trumbull."  This  hard  alternative  greatly  grieved  the  Whigs,  and  particularly 
Mr.  Lincoln's  many  personal  friends,  but  they  accepted  his  advice.  The  result 
was  that  Lyman  Trumbull,  the  veteran  jurist  who  died  only  in  1896,  became 
the  successor  in  the  Senate  of  General  James  Shields,  for  the  term  beginning 
March  4,  1855.  Providence  had  reserved  the  defeated  candidate  for  a  vet  greater 
destiny. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE   LINCOLN    AND   DOUGLAS   DEBATES. 

AT  Ottawa,  Illinois,  August  21, 1858,  was  commenced  one  of  the  most  remark 
able  political  debates  ever  known.  There  were  actual  intellectual  giants  in 
those  days.  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  a  Vermonter,  who  had  risen  rapidly  into  a 
large  degree  of  fame 'since  he  had  become  a  citizen  of  Illinois,  was  one  of  those 
giants,  and  Abraham  Lincoln  was  another.  The  Ordinance  of  1787,  the  Missouri 
Compromise,  the  Compromise  of  1850.  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  and  the  English 
Bill,  so  framed  as  to  deceive  and  defraud  the  people  of  Kansas,  who  decided, 
nevertheless,  to  make  theirs  a  free  state,  were  frequently  touched  in  the  discus 
sion.  Not  only  were  the  two  men  great,  but  they  discussed  great  vital  principles, 
in  the  discussion. 

Seven  joint  debates  were  held — at  Ottawa,  Freeport,  Jonesboro,  Charleston,, 
Galesburg,  Quincy  and  Alton.  Mr.  Douglas  rode  about  from  place  to  place  in  a 
special  saloon-car,  furnished  by  the  general  superintendent  of  the  road,  George 
B.  McClellan,  afterward  a  prominent  Union  general,  and  Democratic  candidate 
for  the  presidency.  Mr.  Lincoln  arjd  his  famous  saddle-bags  went  from  place  to 
place  in  an  ordinary  car.  There  was  firing  of  cannon,  music  by  bands,  great 
processions,  and  immense  audiences  at  each  of  these  meetings. 

Henry  J.  Raymond,  the  famous  editor  of  the  New  York  Times,  epitomizes 
in  his  book  on  Lincoln  the  matter  of  the  first  debate,  as  follows: 

"In  the  first  of  these  joint  debates,  which  took  place  at  Ottawa,  Mr.  Douglas 
again  rung  the  changes  upon  the  introductory  passage  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  Spring 
field  speech,  'A  house  divided  against  itself,'  etc.  Mr.  Lincoln  reiterated  his 
assertion,  and  defended  it  in  effect,  as  he  did  in  his  speech  at  Springfield.  Then 
he  took  up  the  charge  he  had  previously  made,  of  the  existence  of  a  conspiracy 
to  extend  slavery  over  the  northern  states,  and  pressed  it  home,  citing  as  proof 
a  speech  which  Mr.  Douglas  himself  had  made  on  the  Lecompton  Bill,  in  which 
he  had  substantially  made  the  same  charge  against  Buchanan  and  others.  He 
then  showed  again  that  all  that  was  necessary  for  the  accomplishment  of  the 
scheme  was  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  the  effect  that  no  state  could 
exclude  slavery,  as  the  court  had  already  decided  that  no  territory  could  exclude 
it,  and  the  acquiescence  of  the  people  in  such  a  decision;  and  he  told  his  hearers 
that  Douglas  was  doing  all  in  his  power  to  bring  about  such  acquiescence  in 


128 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


advance,  by  declaring  that  the  true  position  was,  not  to  care  whether  slavery 
'was  voted  down  or  up,1  and  by  announcing  himself  in  favor  of  the  Dred  Scott 
decision,  not  bacause  it  was  right,  but  because  a  decision  of  the  court  is  to  him  a 
'Thus  saffch  the  Lord,'  and  thus  committing  himself  to  the  next  decision  just  as 
firmly  as  to  this.1' 

The  next  meeting  was  to  be  held  at  Freeport,  and  as  Mr.  Douglas  in  the 
Ottawa  debate  had  asked  Mr.  Lincoln  several  questions,  which  he  had  promptly 
answered,  Lincoln  prepared  four  questions  to  be  asked  of  Douglas  at  Freeport. 

The  third  question  was: 

u  If  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  shall 
decide  that  states  cannot 
exclude  slavery  'from  their 
limits,  are  you  in  favor  of 
acquiescing  in,  adopting,  and 
following  such  decision  as  a 
code  of  political  action?" 

"Douglas,"  said  Lincoln's 
friends,  "  will  reply  by  affirm 
ing  this  decision  as  an 
abstract  principle,  but  deny 
ing  its  political  application. 'r 
"  If  he  does  that  he  can 
never  be  president,"  said  Lin 
coln. 

"  That  is  not  your  look 
out;  you  are  after  the  sen- 
atorship." 

"  No,  gentlemen;  I  am 
killing  larger  game.  The 
battle  of  1860  is  worth  a  hun 
dred  of  this." 

Douglas  evaded  the  ques 
tion.  The  senator  had  stated 
that  he  did  not  care  whether 
slavery  was  voted  into  or  out 
of  the  territories;  that  the 

negro  was  not  his  equal:  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  not  intended  to- 
include  the  negro.  Mr.  Lincoln  replied  to  these  propositions,  at  Freeport,  as 
follows: 

u  The  ni3n  who  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence  said  that  all  men  are 
created  equal,  and  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights — 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit-  of  happiness.  This  was  their  majestic  interpretation 
of  the  economy  of  the  r.niwrse.  This  was  their  lofty  and  wise  and  noble  under- 


CHARLES  SUMNER. 

One  of  America's  greatest  orators  and  uncompromising 
antislavery  advocates.      He  was  born  1811,  and  died  1874. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  129 

standing  of  the  justice  of  the  Creator  to  his  creatures — yes,  gentlemen,  to  all 
his  creatures,  to  the  whole  great  family  of  man.  In  their  enlightened  belief, 
nothing  stamped  with  the  divine  image  and  likeness  was  sent  into  the  world  to 
be  trodden  on  and  degraded  and  imbruted  by  its  fellows.  They  grasped  not  only 
the  whole  race  of  man  then  living,  but  they  reached  forward  and  seized  upon 
the  farthest  posterity.  They  erected  a  beacon  to  guide  their  children,  and  their 
children's  children,  and  the  countless  myriads  who  should  inhabit  the  eaith  in 
other  ages.  Wise  statesmen  as  they  were,  they  knew  the  tendency  of  posterity 
to  breed  tyrants,  and  so  they  established  these  great  self-evident  truths,  that 
when  in  the  distant  future  some  man,  some  faction,  some  interest,  should  set  up 
the  doctrine  that  none  but  rich  men,  none  but  white  men,  or  none  but  Anglo- 
Saxon  white  men,  were  entitled  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  their 
posterity  might  look  up  again  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  take 
courage  to  renew  the  battle  which  their  fathers  began;  so  that  truth  and  justice 
and  mercy  and  all  the  humane  and  Christian  virtues  might  not  be  extinguished 
from  the  land;  so  that  no  man  would  hereafter  dare  to  limit  and  circumscribe 
the  great  principles  on  which  the  temple  of  liberty  was  being  built. 

uNow,  my  countrymen,  if  you  have  been  taught  doctrines  conflicting  with 
the  great  landmarks  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence;  if  you  have  listened 
to  suggestions  which  would  take  away  from  its  grandeur,  and  mutilate  the  fair 
symmetry  of  its  proportions;  if  you  have  been  inclined  to  believe  that  all  men 
are  not  created  equal  in  those  inalienable  rights  enumerated  by  our  chart  of 
liberty,  let  ine  entreat  you  to  come  back.  Return  to  the  fountain  whose  waters 
spring  close  by  the  blood  of  the  Revolution.  Think  nothing  of  me;  take  no 
thought  for  the  political  fate  of  any  man  whomsoever,  but  come  back  to  the 
truths  that  are  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  You  may  do  anything  with 
me  you  choose  if  you  will  but  heed  these  sacred  principles.  You  may  not 
only  defeat  me  for  the  Senate,  but  you  may  take  me  and  put  me  to  death. 
While  pretending  no  indifference  to  earthly  honors,  I  do  claim  to  be  actuated  in 
this  contest  by  something  higher  than  an  anxiety  for  office.  I  charge  you  to 
drop  every  paltry  and  insignificant  thought  for  any  man's  success.  It  is  noth 
ing;  I  am  nothing;  Judge  Douglas  is  nothing.  But  do  not  destroy  that  immor 
tal  emblem  of  humanity — the  Declaration  of  American  Independence." 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  a  majority  of  four  thousand  in  the  popular  vote  of  the 
state,  but  the  legislative  districts  had  been  so  unfairly  constructed  that  Douglas 
received  a  majority  of  the  ballots  in  the  Legislature.  The  debates,  however, 
attracted  universal  attention  throughout  the  country  and  brought  Mr.  Lincoln 
to  the  front  as  an  able  and  eloquent  champion  of  free-soil  principles. 

In  1859,  the  Democrats  of  Ohio,  having  nominated  their  candidate  for  gov 
ernor,  Mr.  Douglas,  as  the  champion  of  " popular  sovereignty"  was  invited  to 
take  part  in  the  canvass,  with  great  expectations  as  to  the  results  on  the  part  of 
the  Democracy.  Naturally,  the  Republicans  at  once  asked  Lincoln  to  come  to  the 
state,  and  he  promptly  responded,  making  two  remarkable  speeches  (he  could 
have  made  no  other  kind  at  that  time),  one  at  Columbus,  the  other  at  Cincinnati. 


130 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Mr.  Douglas  had  had  printed  in  Harper's  Magazine  an  elaborate  and  carefully 
prepared  article,  explaining  his  views  on  the  principles  of  which  he  was  the  chief 
representative.  This  was  a  golden  opportunity  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  at  Colum 
bus  he  made*  mince-meat  of  Mr.  Douglas'  elaborate  essay.  Mr.  Lincoln  terselv 
described  what  Judge  Douglas1  proposed  popular  sovereignty  really  was.  He 
said:  "It  is,  as  a  principle,  no  other  than  that  if  one  man  chooses  to  make  a 
slave  of  another  man,  neither  that  other  man  nor  anybody  else  has  a  right  to 
object.  Applied  to  the  government  as  he  means  to  apply  it,  it  is  this:  If,  in  a 

new  territory  inlo  which  a 
few  people  nre  beginning  to 
enter  for  the  purpose  of  mak 
ing  their  homes,  they  choose 
to  exclude  slavery  from  their 
limits  or  establish  it  there, 
however  one  or  the  other 
may  affect  the  persons  to  be 
enslaved,  or  the  infinitely 
greater  number  of  persons 
who  are  afterward  to  inhabit 
that  territory,  or  the  other 
members  of  the  families  of 
communities  of  which  they 
are  but  incipient  members, 
or  the  general  head  of  the 
family  of  states,  as  parent 
of  all — however  their  action 
may  affect  one  or  the  other 
of  these,  there  is  no  power 
or  right  to  interfere.  That 
is  Douglas'  popular  sov 
ereignty  applied.  He  has  a 
good  deal  of  trouble  with 
popular  sovereignty.  His 
explanations  explanatory  of 
explanations  explained  are 
interminable."  Mr.  Lincoln 
proceeded  to  say,  %t  Did  you 

ever,  five  years  ago,  hear  of  anybody  in  the  world  saying  that  the  negro  had 
no  share  in  the  Declaration  of  National  Independence;  that  it  did  not  mean 
negroes  at  all;  and  when  'all  men1  were  spoken  of,  negroes  wrere  not  included?1' 
Mr.  Lincoln  at  Cincinnati  addressed  largely  the  Kentuckians.  his  old  neigh 
bors,  and  after  advising  them  to  nominate  Mr.  Douglas  as  their  candidate  for  the 
presidency  at  the  approaching  Charleston  convention,  showed  them  how,  by  so 
doing,  they  would  the  more  surely  protect  their  cherished  institution  of  slavery. 


JOHN   CHARLES   FREMONT. 

Familiarly  known  as  the  "  Pathfinder."    He  was  born 
1813,  and  was  the  first  Republican  candidate  for  president. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOUfl". 


131 


The  Ohio  Republican  state  committee  was  so  well  pleased  with  Mr.  Lincoln's 
speeches  that  it  requested  permission  to  publish  in  a  pamphlet  or  book  the 
verbatim  report  of  the  debate  between  Mr.  Douglas  and  himself  in  Illinois,  of 
which  they  printed  a  very  large  edition  and  distributed  it  widely  a*  a  campaign 
document. 

In  December,  1859,  by  invitation,  Lincoln  visited  Kansas,  as  the  great 
champion  of  the  freedom  of  their  territory.  He  spoke  at  Atchison,  Troy,  Leav- 
enworth  and  other  towns  near  the  border. 

In  February,  1860,  he  was  invited  to  speak  in  New  York,  and  at  Cooper  Insti 
tute,  on  the  evening  of  February  27,  1860,  he  made  one  of  the  grandest  of  all  his 
public  utterances,  exciting  by  his  strong  points  and  his  eloquence  an  enthusiasm 
that  was  tremendous  in  its  manifestations.  It  was  accepted  at  once  as  the  most 


THE   WIGWAM   WHERE   LINCOLN  WAS  NOMINATED   FOR   PRESIDENT. 

important  contribution  to  the  solution  of  the  immensely  important  current 
political  problems  of  the  day  that  had  been  uttered,  and  reported  as  it  was,  in 
the  New  York  Tribune  (Horace  Greeley's  paper)  and  other  New  York  journals, 
it  had  a  wide  circulation  throughout  the  United  States,  and  did  much  to  create 
public  opinion  in  the  exciting  times  which  were  to  follow. 

Subsequently,  Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  in  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island  and  New 
Hampshire,  creating  great  enthusiasm  everywhere,  and  talk  of  his  becoming  a 
candidate  for  the  presidency  seemed  to  be  spontaneous.  A  good  many  New- 
Yorkers  and  others  desired  the  nomination  of  William  Henry  Seward  for  the 
presidency,  and  were  so  considerate  (!)  as  to  consent  that  Mr.  Lincoln  might 
have  the  second  place  on  the  ticket. 


132 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


What  were  Mr.  Lincoln's  pecuniary  circumstances  at  this  time?  To  an 
Illinois  acquaintance,  whom  he  met  at  the  Astor  House,  in  New  York,  he  said: 
UI  have  the  cottage  at  Springfield,  and  about  three  thousand  dollars  in  money. 
If  they  m  ike  me  vice-president  with  Seward,  as  some  say  they  will,  I  hope  I 
shall  be  able  to  increase  it  to  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  that  is  as  much  as 
any  man  ought  to  want" 

At  New  York,  in  company  with  a  friend,  he  went  to  visit  the  Five  Points 
Mission,  and  addressed  the  children.  After  having  spoken,  the  superintendent, 
Mr.  Pease,  asked  his  name.  He  courteously  replied,  ult  is  Abraham  Lincoln, 
of  Illinois." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   CHICAGO   CONVENTION   AND   CAMPAIGN  -OF   1860. 

IINCOLN,  who  had  received  a  respectable  number  of  votes  for  the  presidential 
_j  nomination  in  the  convention  at  Philadelphia,  which  nominated  Fremont 
and  Dayton,  was  now  prominently  mentioned  by  the  people  East  and  West  as 
an  available  candidate  for  the  Republican  nomination  in  1860.  A  prominent  and 
formidable  opponent  was  Mr.  Seward,  the  man  who  advanced  the  doctrine  that 
there  was  a  higher  law,  even,  than  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States — the 
law  of  the  Supreme  Being.  Mr.  Seward  was  a  man  of  great  popularity,  of 
decided  ability  as  a  public  man  and  a  statesman,  besides  having  had  long  experience 
as  a  politician.  He  had  been  twice  elected  governor  of  the  state  of  New  York. 

The  Republicans  of  Illinois  gathered  in  state  convention  at  Decatur,  on 
May  9  and  10,  1860,  anl  determined  to  present  Abraham  Lincoln  as  their 
•candidate  for  the  presidency  at  the  national  Republican  convention,  called  to 
meet  at  Chicago  on  the  sixteenth.  At  this  Decatur  convention,  Lincoln's  cousin, 
John  Hanks,  brought  in  "two  historical  rails,"  as  Judge  Herndon  writes,  of  a  lot 
•"which  both  had  made  in  the  Sangamon  bottom,  and  which  served  the  double 
purpose  of  electrifying  the  Illinois  people  and  kindling  the  fire  of  enthusiasm 
that  was  destined  to  sweep  over  the  nation."  Judge  Herndon  quotes  one  ardent 
delegate  as  saying:  "  These  rails  were  to  represent  the  issue  in  the  coming  contest 
between  labor  free  and  labor  slave;  between  democracy  and  aristocracy;  little  did 
I  think  of  the  mighty  consequences  of  this  little  incident;  little  did  I  think  that 
the  tall  and  angular  and  bony  rail-splitter  who  stood  in  girlish  diffidence,  bowing 
with  awkward  grace,  would  fill  the  chair  once  filled  by  Washington,  and  that  his 
name  would  echo  in  chants  of  praise  along  the  corridors  of  all  coming  times." 

By  this  time  the  whole  North  had  come  to  recognize  in  Mr.  Lincoln  those 
qualities  of  which  statesmen  are  made,  and  his  name  was  heard  everywhere  in 
discussions  as  to  the  most  available  man  to  lead  the  Republican  party  to  victory. 
Mr.  Seward,  however,  a  man  of  wider  experience,  was  the  favorite  candidate  in 
certain  portions  of  the  East. 

One  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  old  friends,  David  Davis,  afterward  senator  and  a  member 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  engaged  rooms  in  the  Tremont  House,  Chicago,  to  be  used 
as  the  Lincoln  headquarters  during  the  convention.  An  immense  wooden  structure 
was  erected  on  the  lake  front,  opposite  the  site  on  which  the  Auditorium  now 

183 


134 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


stands — that  great  hall  in  which  President  Benjamin  Harrison,  the  grandson  of 
President  William  H.  Harrison,  was  nominated  in  1888.  This  structure  was  called 
uThe  Wigwam,M  and  it  has  gone  into  history  -by  that  name.  Great  crowds  of 
people  from  all  portions  of  the  East,  North  and  West  were  gathered  in  Chicago 
on  this  occasion. 

The  convention  opened  May  16th.  There  were  465  delegates,  and  a  large 
attendance  of  politicians  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  Salmon  P.  Chase,  Mr. 
Cameron,  of  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Bates,  of  Missouri,  as  well  as  Mr.  Seward  and  Mr. 

Lincoln,  were  named  as  candi 
dates,  but  it  was  soon  evident 
that  either  Seward  or  Lincoln 
would  be  the  chosen  one. 

Judge  Wilmot,  author  of 
that  famous  free-soil  measure,, 
the  Wilmot  Proviso,  was  made 
temporary  chairman,  and 
George  Ashmun,  of  Mass 
achusetts,  permanent  chair 
man.  On  the  seventeenth  the 
committee  on  resolutions  re 
ported  a  platform,  which  was 
received  with  greatenthusiasm 
and  unanimously  adopted. 
Mr.  Seward,  to  whom  we  must 
award  additional  praise,  was  a 
man  of  great  patriotism  and 
ability,  and  was  thought  to  be 
the  man  who  would  receive  the 
honor  of  the  nomination.  A 
motion  was  made  to  nominate 
on  the  seventeenth,  but  an 
adjournment  was  taken  until 
morning. 

During  the  night  there 
were  new  developments.  The 
Republicans  of  Illinois  turned 
out  in  large  numbers  and  rent 
the  air  with  their  shouts  for 
Lincoln.  Mr.  SewardVadher- 
ents  marched  the  streets  with 
flags  and  bands  of  music,  and 
were  enthusiastic  for  their  candidate.  The  air.  was  filled  with  music. 

The  balloting  was  reached  the  next  day.  The  first  ballot  gave  Mr.  Seward  173^ 
to  102  for  Lincoln,  with  quite  a  number  of  "scattering"  votes.  On  the  second 


LINCOLN   IN  1861. 

Until  after  Lincoln's  nomination  for  the  presidency 
he  never  wore  a  beard.  The  portrait  above  was  taken  in 
Springfield  about,  three  months  later,  in  January,  1861, 
joist  before  his  departure  for  Washington.  It  was  one  of 
the  first  and  best  showing  him  with  a  beard.  Tt  is  an  old- 
fashioned  wet  plate,  and  is  well  preserved.  When  a  por 
trait  was  to  be  painted  for  the  Illinois  state-house,  all  the 
various  pictures  of  the  martyred  president  were  spread 
out  before  the  committee  of  old  friends  and  neighbors, 
and  this  sitting  was  chosen  for  a  model  of  the  painting. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


135 


ballot  the  chairman  of  the  Vermont  delegation,  which  delegation  had  given 
a  divided  vote  on  the  first  ballot,  announced  that  •"  Vermont  gave  her  ten  votes  for 
the  young  giant  of  the  West,  Abraham  Lincoln.1'  On  the  second  ballot  Mr. 
Seward  had  184^  votes,  Mr.  Lincoln  181;  and  on  the  third  ballot  Mr.  Lincoln 
received  230  votes,  being  within  one  and  one  half  of  a  majority.  The  vote  was 
not  announced,  but  so  many  everywhere  had  kept  the  count  of  the  ballot  that  it 
was  known  throughout  the  convention  at  once.  Mr.  David  K.  Cartter,  of  Ohio, 
rose  and  announced  a  change  in  the  vote  of  the  Ohio  delegation  of  four  votes  in 
favor  of  Lincoln,  and  at  once 
the  convention  burst  out  in 
a  state  of  the  wildest  excite 
ment.  Instantly  cannons 
blazed  and  roared,  bands 
played,  banners  waved,  and 
the  excited  Republicans  of 
Illinois  and  Chicago  shouted 
themselves  hoarse;  while  the 
telegraph  instruments 
•clicked  the  glad  news  to  all 
portions  of  the  country. 

*  When  the  convention  set 
tled  down  again,  other  states 
-changed  their  votes  in  favor 
of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  it  was 
•announced  as  the  result  of 
the  third  ballot  that  Abra 
ham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  had 
received  354  votes  out  of 
465,  and  that  he  was  nom 
inated  by  the  Republican 
party  for  the  office  of  pres 
ident  of  the  United  States. 
The  nomination  was  then, 
on  the  motion  of  William  H. 
Evarts,  of  New  York,  made 
unanimous,  and  the  conven 
tion  took  a  recess  until  the" 

afternoon,   when   it  completed  its   work   by   nominating  Hannibal  Hamlin,  of 
Maine,  for  the  vice-presidency. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  at  his  proper  place — at  home — at  this  time.  Let  us  give  Mr. 
Raymond's  significant  paragraph  describing  what  occurred  at  Springfield: 

"He  [Mr.  Lincoln]  had  been  in  the  telegraph-office  during  the  casting  of  the 
first  and  second  ballots,  but  then  left  and  went  over  to  the  office  of  the  State 
Journal,  where  he  was  sitting  conversing  with  friends  while  the  third  ballot  was 


HANNIBAL   HAMLIN,   OF   MAINE. 


Vice-president  with  Lincoln  the 
born  1809,  and  died  1891. 


first  term.    He  was 


136 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


being  taken.  In  a  few  moments  came  across  the  wires  the  announcement  of  the* 
result.  The  superintendent  of  the  telegraph  company,  who  was  present,  wrote 
on  a  scrap  of  paper,  'Mr.  Lincoln,  you  are  nominated  on  the  third  ballot,1  and 
a  boy  ran  with  the  message  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  looked  at  it  in  silence  amid  the 
shouts  of  those  around  him;  then  rising  and  putting  it  in  his  pocket,  he  said 
quietly,  'There's  a  little  woman  down  at  our  house  would  like  to  hear  this;  I'll 
go  down  and  tell  her.'  " 

Mr.  Raymond  relates  that,  "Tall  Judge  Kelly,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  was  one 
of  the  committee  to  advise  Mr.  Lincoln  of  his  nomination,  and  who  is  himself  a> 
great  many  feet  high,  had  meanwhile  been  eying  Mr.  Lincoln's  lofty  form  with 


AN  OVATION  FROM   NEIGHBORS,   AFTER   THE   NOMINATING  CONVENTION. 

a  mixture  of  admiration  and  possibly  jealousy;  this  had  not  escaped  Mr.  Lin 
coln,  and  as  he  shook  hands  with  the  judge  he  inquired,  "What  is  your  height?  'v 

"'Six  feet  three.     What  is  yours,  Mr.  Lincoln?' 

'"Six  feet  four.' 

"'Then,1  said  the  judge,  'Pennsylvania  bows  to  Illinois.  My  dear  man.  for 
years  my  heart  has  been  aching  for  a  president  that  I  could  look  up  to,  and  I've 
found  him  at  last  in  the  land  where  we  thought  there  were  none  but  "little"" 
giants.1  " 

The  presidential  campaign  that  followed  was  the  most  remarkable  that  had 
been  conducted  in  the  country  since  the  time  that  William  Henry  Harrison  was- 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


137 


-the  Whig  candidate  for  the  presidency  in  1840,  twenty  years  before.  The 
•enthusiasm  throughout  the  North  was  spontaneous  and  overwhelming.  Abraham 
Lincoln  had  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  man  of  all  others  to  represent  the 
principles  and  bear  the  standard  of  the  new  party.  The  popular  demonstrations 
everywhere  were  enthusiastic  and  decidedly  original.  The  whole  North  was 
organized  into  companies,  battalions,  regiments,  brigades,  etc.,  and  the  members 
of  these  organizations  were  known  far  and  wide  as  u  Wide-Awakes."  They  were 
uniformed  with  oil  capes  and  glazed  caps,  and  they  turned  out  with  full  ranks  of 
old  and  middle-aged  men, 
youth  and  boys,  at  all  public 
demonstrations.  They  parad 
ed  with  bands  of  martial 
music,  sang  songs  and  shouted 
for  the  "rail-splitter  of  Illi 
nois."  No  man  of  that  period 
had  gained  so  strong  a  hold 
on  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
The  magic  words,  U01d  Abe" 
and  "  Honest  Old  Abe "  were 
on  thousands  of  banners. 

The  significant  fact  with 
regard  to  all  these  demonstra 
tions,  remembered  with  great 
interest  by  millions  of  men 
still  living,  is  that  they  were 
representative  of  a  great  prin 
ciple,  involving  the  freedom 
of  individuals,  of  common 
wealths,  and  of  the  nation. 

John  G.  Whittier,  Wil 
liam  Cullen  Bryant,  James 
Russell  Lowell,  Henry  W. 
Longfellow,  and  other  Amer 
ican  poets,  had  written  stir 
ring  lines  against  slavery, 

and  Mrs.  Stowe's  immortal  work,  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"1  written  years  before,  had 
produced  a  powerful  influence  against  the  "peculiar  institution"  of- the  South. 
Then  there  was  the  brave  work  of  the  martyr  John  Brown,  of  Ossawatomie,  a 
native  of  Connecticut,  afterward  a  resident  of  North  Elba,  New  York,  where  a 
monument  now  stands  to  his  memory.  He  had  fired,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  a  shot 
in  bahalf  of  the  freedom  of  the  slaves  that  was  heard  in  every  slave  cabin  in  the 
world.  He  died  on  the  scaffold  six  months  before  the  Chicago  convention  was  held. 

At  the  Democratic  convention,  held  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  April, 
1860,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  was  in  the  lead  as  a  presidential  candidate.     The  con- 


EDWARD  EVERETT. 


138  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

ventiou  took  a  recess  until  the  eighteenth  of  June  to  reassemble  at  Baltimore, 
and  Douglas  was  finally  nominated  for  the  presidency  of  the  United  States,  and 
Herschell  B.  Johnson,  of  Georgia,  was  named  for  the  vice-presidency.  So 
Lincoln  and  Douglas  were  again  in  the  field  against  each  other.  , 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  June,  also  at  Baltimore,  southern  Democrats  who 
had  seceded  at  Charleston  convened,  and  nominated  as  their  candidate  John  C. 
Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  for  the  presidency  and  Joseph  Lane  for  the  vice- 
presidency.  Previous  to  this,  however,  in  May,  the  Constitutional  Union 
National  Convention  .was  held,  and  the  principal  plank  in  its  platform  adopted 
declared  that  "it  is  both  the  part  of  patriotism  and  of  duty  to  recognize  no 
political  principles  other  than  the  constitution  of  the  country,  the  union  of  the 
states,  and  the  enforcement  of  the  laws.1'  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  was  the  can 
didate  for  the  presidency,  and  Edward  Everett,  of  Massachusetts,  was  named  for 
the  vice-presidency. 

With  four  national  tickets  in  the  field,  representing  as  many  conflicting 
principles  and  sectional  interests,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  campaign  of  18GO  was 
one  of  the  most  exciting  in  the  history  of  the  country. 

It  is  quite  true  that  some  of  the  Republican  politicians  were  disappointed  and 
chagrined.  Statesmen  who  had  had  a  national  reputation  before  Lincoln  had 
become  a  prominent  figure  in  political  affairs  felt  that  their  "claims"  had  been 
slighted.  But  the  people  were  more  than  satisfied. 

The  election  was  held  on  the  sixth  of  November;  the  result  showed  a  popular 
vote  for  Lincoln  of  1,857,610;  for  Douglas,  1,365:976;  for  Breckinridge.  847,953; 
and  for  Bell,  590,631.  In  the  electoral  college  Lincoln  received  180  votes, 
Breckinridge  72,  Bell  39,  and  Douglas  12. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

FROM    SPRINGFIELD    TO    WASHINGTON. 

FINALLY,  February  11, 1861,  Mr.  Lincoln  left  Springfield  for  Washington.  It 
may  be  that  Mr.  Douglas  was  traveling  about  the  country  at  this  time  in  George 
B.  McClellan's  magnificent  saloon-car,  but  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  riding  about  on 
horseback  with  saddle-bags  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another,  nor  in  a 
common  railway  coach.  A  special  train  had  been  provided,  and  a  man  of  the  name 
of  Wood  (recommended  to  Mr.  Lincoln  by  Mr.  Seward)  had  been  placed  in  charge 
of  the  party,  which  was  composed  of  the  president-elect,  his  wife,  his  sons,  Robert. 
William  and  Thomas,  his  brother-in-law,  Dr.  W.  S.  Wnllace,  David  Davis, 
Norman  B.  Judd,  Elmer  Ellsworth  (who  was  afterward  killed  at  Alexandria, 
Virginia),  and  the  president's  two  secretaries,  John  G.  Nicolay  and  John  Hay. 
Colonel  Sumner,  of  the  United  States  army,  was  also  in  the  car,  and  Governor 
Yates,  Judge  0.  H.  Browning  and  others  were  of  the  part}7.  Before  leaving  the 
station,  Lincoln  addressed  his  old  neighbors  and  friends,  as  follows: 

u  Friends,  no  one  who  has  never  been  placed  in  like  position  can  understand 
my  feelings  at  this  hour,  nor  the  oppressive  sadness  I  feel  at  this  parting.  For 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  I  have  lived  among  you,  and  during  all 
that  time  I  have  received  nothing  but  kindness  at  your  hands.  Here  I  have 
lived  from  my  youth,  until  now  I  am  an  old  man;  here  the  most  sacred  ties  of 
earth  were  assumed;  here  all  my  children  were  born,  and  here  one  of  them  lies 
buried.  To  you,  dear  friends,  I  owe  all  that  I  am.  All  the  checkered  past  seems 
to  crowd  now  upon  my  mind.  To-day  I  leave  you;  I  go  to  assume  a  task  more 
difficult  than  that  of  Washington,  and  unless  the  great  God,  who  assisted  him, 
shall  be  with  and  aid  me,  I  must  fail;  but  if  the  same  Almighty  arm  shall  guide 
and  support  me,  I  shall  not  fail,  I  shall  succeed.  Let  us  all  pray  that  the  God  of 
our  fathers  will  not  forsake  us  now.  To  him  I  commend  you  all.  Permit  me 
to  ask  that  with  equal  sincerity  and  faith  you  will  invoke  his  guidance  for  me. 
With  this,  friends,  one  and  all,  I  must  now  bid  you  an  affectionate  farewell." 

The  trip  from  Springfield  to  Washington  was  much  like  a  "royal  progress.*' 
It  is  doubtful,  -however,  whether  any  king  on  a  tour  about  his  country  among 
his  people  was  ever  greeted  with  such  enthusiastic  and  loyal  receptions.  Multi 
tudes  of  people  gathered  at  all  places  where  the  train  stopped,  and  brief 
addresses  were  made  from  time  to  time. 

139 


140 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


At  Pittsburgh  he  advised  deliberation,  and  begged  the  American  people  to 
keep  their  temper  on  both  sides  of  the  line.  In  front  of  Independence  Hall,  he 
assured  his  listeners  that  "under  his  administration  there  would  be  no  blood 
shed  until  it  was  forced  upon  the  government,  and  then  it  would  be  compelled 
to  act  in  self-defense." 

A  little  incident  illustrative  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  sympathy  with  children  may  not 
be  out  of  place  here.  In  the  beautiful  village  of  Westfield,  Chautauqua  county, 
New  York,  lived  little  Grace  Bedell.  During  the  campaign  she  saw  a  portrait  of 


THE   DEPOT   AT   SPRINGFIELD,    ILLINOIS,    FEBRUARY    11,    1861. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  for  whom  she  felt  the  love  and  reverence  that  was  common  in 
Republican  families,  and  his  smooth,  homely  face  rather  disappointed  her.  She 
said  to  her  mother:  "I  think,  mother,  th  it  Mr.  Lincoln  would  look  better  if  he 
wore  whiskers,  and  I  mean  to  write  and  tell  him  so.'1 

The  mother  gave  her  permission. 

Grace's  father  was  a  Republican;  her  two  brothers  Democrats.  Grace  wrote 
at  once  to  the  "Hon.  Abraham  Lincoln,  Esq.,  Springfield,  Illinois,"  in  which  she 
told  him  how  old  she  was,  and  where  she  lived;  that  she  was  a  Republican;  that 
she  thought  he  would  make  a  good  president,  but  would  look  better  if  he  would 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


141 


let  his  whiskers  grow.  If  he  would  do  so  she  would  try  to  coax  her  brothers  to 
vote  for  him.  She  thought  the  rail  fence  around  the  picture  of  his  cabin  was  very 
pretty.  "IE  you  have  not  time  to  answer  my  letter,  will  you  allow  your  little  girl 
to  reply  for  you?" 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  much  pleased  with  the  letter,  and  decided  to  answer  it,  which 

he  did  at  once,  as  follows: 

SPRINGFIELD,  ILLINOIS,  October  19,  1860. 
Miss  GRACE  BEDELL. 

My  Dear  Little  Miss: — Your  very  agreeable  letter  of  the  fifteenth  is  received.  I 
regret  the  necessity  of  saying  I 
have  no  daughter.  I  have  three 
sons;  one  seventeen,  one  nine 
and  one  seven  years  of  age. 
They,  Avith  their  mother,  con 
stitute  my  whole  family.  As 
to  the  whiskers,  having  never 
worn  any,  do  you  not  think 
people  would  call  it  a  piece  of 
silly  affectation  if  I  should  be 
gin  it  now?  Your  very  sincere 

well-wisher, 

A.  LINCOLN. 

When  on  the  journey  to 
Washington.  Mr.  Lincoln's 
train  stopped  at   Westfield. 
He  recollected  his  little  cor 
respondent,  and  spoke  of  her       H 
to     ex-Lieutenant-governor       91 
George   W.  Patterson,  who 
called     out     and     asked    if 
Grace   Bedell    was    present.  V 

There  was  a  large,  surging 
mass  of  people  gathered 
about  the  train,  but  Grace 
was  discovered  at  a  distance; 
the  crowd  opened  a  pathway 
to  the  coach,  and  she  came, 
timidly  but  gladly,  to  the 
president-elect,  who  told  her 

that  she  might  see  that  he  had  allowed  his  whiskers  to  grow  at  her  request. 
Then,  reaching  out  his  long  arms,  he  drew  her  up  to  him  and  kissed  her.  The 
ac.t  drew  an  enthusiastic  demonstration  of  approval  from  the  multitude.  Grace 
is  now,  in  1896,  a  married  lady,  living  in  Kansas,  and  the  wife  of  a  banker.  Her 
present  name  is  Grace  Bedell  Billings. 

Great  precaution  was  used  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  passage  from  Harrisburg,  Pennsyl 
vania,  to  Washington,  and  many  accounts,  differing  in  their  statements,  have 
been  printed.  Threats  had  been  made  that  Mr.  Lincoln,  on  his  way  to  Washington, 


GRACE  BEDELL   BILLINGS. 


142 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


should  never  puss  through  Baltimore.  Mr.  Herndon  says,  in  his  "  Life  of  Lincoln,'7 
that  uit  was  reported  and  believed  that  conspiracies  had  been  formed  to  attack 
the  train  and  blow  it  up  with  explosives,  or  in  some  equally  effective  way  dispose 
of  the  president-elect.  Mr.  Seward  and  others  were  so  deeply  impressed  by  the 
reports  that  Allen  Pinkerton,  a  noted  detective  of  Chicago,  was  employed  to 
investigate  the  reports  and  ferret  out  the  conspiracy,  if  any  existed.  This  shrewd 
detective  opened  on  office  as  a  stock-broker,  and,  with  his  assistants,  the  most 
noted  of  whom  was  a  woman,  was  soon  in  possession  of  inside  information.  A 
change  of  plans  and  trains  at  Harrisburg  was  due  to  his  management  and  advice. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  advised  General  Scott  of  the  threats  of  violence  on  the 
inauguration  day.  The  veteran  commander  was  lying  propped  up  in  his  bed  by 
pillows,  and  weak  and  trembling  from  physical  debility,  his  feelings  were  very 

much  wrought  up  by  Mr.  Lincoln's 
communication.  Adjutant -gen  eral 
Thomas  Mather  called  upon  Mr.  Scott 
in  Lincoln's  behalf,  and  was  addressed 
by  Scott  as  follows:  u  General  Mather, 
present  my.  compliments  to  Mr.  Lin 
coln  when  you  return  to  Springfield, 
find  tell  him  I  expect  him  to  come  on 
'to  Washington  as  soon  as  he  is  ready; 
say  to  him  that  I  will  look  after  those 
Maryland  and  Virginia  rangers  myself; 
I  will  plant  cannon  at  both  ends  of 
Pennsylvania  avenue,  and  if  any  of 
them  show  their  heads  or  raise  a  finger, 
I'll  blow  them  to  hell." 

Only  the  members  of  the  party 
knew  when  Mr.  Lincoln  left  Harris- 
burg,  or  when  he  arrived  at  Washing 
ton.  The  secessionists  of  Baltimore 
were  utterly  thwarted,  and  long  after 

his  train  had  passed  on  its  way  to  Washington   were  doubtless  brooding  over 
their  fiendish  Conspiracy. 

Mr.  Lincoln  arrived  at  Washington  a  few  days  before  the  fourth  of  March, 
and  took  quarters  at  Willard's  hotel,  then  and  now  a  famous  hostelry.  On  the 
morning  of  March  4,  1861,  he  rode  to  the  Capitol  in  a  barouche  with  President 
Buchanan.  The  oath  of  office  was  administered  by  the  venerable  Chief-justice 
Taney,  and  he  was  at  last  president  of  our  great  republic.  Mr.  Buchanan 
accompanied  him  to  the  White  House,  and  here  the  retiring  chief  magistrate  bade 
him  farewell,  bespeaking  for  him  a  peaceful,  prosperous  and  successful  adminis 
tration.  His  inaugural  adlress,  delivered  immediately  after  taking  the  oath,  could 
have  been,  under  the  circumstances  and  on  as  supreme  occasion  as  this,  nothing 
less  than  remarkable.  The  closing  paragraphs  are  as  follows: 


LINCOLN'S   NIGHT  TRIP   FROM   HARRISBURG 
TO  WASHINGTON. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


143 


aln  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-countrymen,  and  not  in  mine,  is  the 
momentous  issue  of  civil  war.  The  government  will  not  assail  you.  You  can  have  no 
conflict  without  being  yourselves  the  aggressors.  You  have  no  oath  registered  in 
heaven  to  destroy  the  government,  while  I  shall  have  the  most  solemn  one  to 
'preserve,  protect  and  defend  it.'  I  am  loath  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies,  but 
friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  strained,  it  must  not 
break  our  bonds  of  affection.  The  mystic  cord  of  memory,  stretching  from  every 
battle-field  and  patriot  grave  to  every  living  heart  and  hearthstone  all  over  this 
broad  land  will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union,  when  again  touched,  as  surely 
they  will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature.1' 

Sublime  and  beautiful  prophecy !  How  much  was  to  occur  before  it  was  finally 
fulfilled! 


LINCOLN   ENTERS   WASHINGTON,   FEBRUARY   23,   18fil. 

Judge  Isaac  N.  Arnold  says  that  on  New-Year's  day,  1861,  Senator  Douglas 
made  this  statement  at  Washington:  u  The  cotton  states  are  making  an  effort 
to  draw  the  border  states  into  their  scheme  of  secession,  and  I  am  but  too  fearful 
they  will  succeed.  If  they  do,  ihere  will  be  the  most  fearful  civil  war  ever 
known."  Pausing  a  moment,  he  looked  like  one  inspired,  while  he  proceeded, 
4* Virginia,  over  yonder  across  the  Potomac,"  pointing  toward  Arlington,  "will 
become  a  charnel-house,  but  in  the  end  the  Union  will  triumph.  They  will  try 
to  get  possession  of  this  Capitol  to  give  them  prestige  abroad;  but  in  that  effort 
they  will  never  succeed;  the  North  will  rise  en  masse  to  defend  it,  but  Washington 
will  become  a  city  of  hospitals;  the  churches  will  be  used  for  the  sick  and 
wounded.  This  house,  the  Minnesota  block,  will  be  devoted  to  that  purpose." 
Before  the  end  of  the  war  this  prediction  was  literally  fulfilled.  Nearly  all  of 


144 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


the  churches  were  used  for  the  wounded,  and  the  Minnesota  block,  and  the  very 
room  in  which  this  remark  was  made,  became  the  Douglas  hospital. 

President  Lincoln  appointed  his  Cabinet  as  follows:  William  H.  Seward, 
secretary  of  state;  Simon  Cameron,  secretary  of  war;  Salmon  P.  Chase,  secre 
tary  of  the  treasury;  Gideon  Wells,  secretary  of  the  navy;  Caleb  B.  Smith, 
secretary  of  the  interior;  Montgomery  Blair,  postmaster-general;  Edward  Bates, 
attorney-general. 

What  men  were  these!  Mr.  Seward  and  Mr.  Chase,  of  Ohio,  were  among 
the  ablest,  most  intellectual  statesmen  of  their  day.  They  were  sterling  patriots. 
They  were  both  ambitious,  and  possibly  somewhat  jealous  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  whom 
they  believed,  in  their  inmost  hearts,  was  inferior  to  them.  Certainly  both  were 
polished  gentlemen.  Seward  was  affable;  Chase  was  of  a  most  commanding 
presence.  Caleb  B.  Smith,  of  Indiana,  was  also  a  man  of  power,  as  was  Simon 
Cameron,  of  Pennsylvania.  Montgomery  Blair  was  a  patriot  from  a  slave  state. 


LINCOLN   ENTERED   THE   WHITE   HOUSE    MARCH   4,    1861. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE   CONSPIRACY  AGAINST    THE   UNION. 

A  FEW  words  should  here  be  written  covering  the  condition  of  things  during 
the  later  months  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  administration.  He  was  evidently 
in  great  perplexity.  His  Cabinet  was  largely  composed  of  disloyal  men.  who 
were  doing  their  utmost  to  excite  the  southern  people  into  revolt.  Outside  of 
the  Cabinet  there  were  many  of  the  same  ilk.  Early  in  the  Lincoln  campaign, 
representative  men  in  South  Carolina  and  other  southern  states  threatened  to 
secede,  and  declared  that  the  South  would  not  live  under  a  black  Republican 
government.  After  it  was  known  that  Lincoln  was  elected,  great  effort  was 
made  in  various  southern  states  to  induce  South  Carolina  to  raise  the  banner 
of  revolt  and  secession;  and  not  without  success.  Federal  officers  in  that  state  sent 
their  resignations  to  Washington.  In  Georgia,  Governor  Brown,  on  Novem 
ber  12th,  asserted  the  right  of  secession,  and  declared  it  the  duty  of  Georgia 
to  stand  by  South  Carolina.  There  were  some  southern  men  who  at  heart  were 
still  true  to  the  Union.  In  that  same  month  Alexander  H.  Stephens  attempted 
bravely  to  stem  the  tide  of  the  coming  rebellion.  Still,  in  a  speech  before  the 
-Georgia  Legislature,  November  14th,  he  said:  "Should  Georgia  determine  to  go 
out  of  the  Union,  I  shall  bow  to  the  will  of  the  people." 

James  Buchanan  was  doubtless  as  deserving  of  pity  as  he  was  of  blame.  He 
was  old  and  ill,  suffering  still  from  the  National  hotel  poisoning.  In  his  Cabinet 
were  Howell  Cobb,  of  Georgia,  John  B.  Floyd,  of  Virginia,  and  other  bitter 
secessionists,  by  whom  he  was  dominated.  Buchanan  showed  great  weakness  in 
his  last  message,  and  but  prepared  the  way  for  the  conspirators.  In  Congress 
and  out  there  were  attempts  to  conciliate  the  secessionists  and  avert  the  impend 
ing  outbreaks,  but,  unhappily,  without  effect.  Grand  old  Ben  Wade  in  the 
Senate,  John  A.  Logan  and  Owen  Lovejoy,  of  Illinois,  and  other  noble  and  brave 
men  in  the  House,  stood  at  the  front,  doing  their  best  to  stamp  out  treason  and 
promote  sentiments  of  loyalty  to  the  Union  and  the  flag. 

When  Mr.  Lincoln  took  his  seat  as  president,  the  work  of  the  conspirators 
against  the  Union  was  well  advanced.  The  secession  members  of  Buchanan's 
Cabinet,  especially  Floyd,  the  secretary  of  war,  had  robbed  the  treasury  of  its 
funds  to  be  used  in  equipping  a  rebel  army  and  navy.  Military  posts  in  the 
South,  with  all  their  equipments,  had  been  put  in  the  hands  of  armed  traitors. 


146 


ABIIAHAM    LINCOLN". 


Such  was  the  dark  and  threatening  prospect  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  inau 
gurated  president.  How  calmly,  how  firmly  and  judiciously  he  faced  the 
impending  crisis  will  be  seen  from  his  inauguration  address,  from  which  we 
make  the  following  extracts:  uThe  power  confided  to  me  will  be  used  to  hold, 
occupy  and  possess  the  property  and  places  belonging  to  the  government,  and 
to  collect  the  duties  and  imposts;  but  beyond  what  may  be  but  necessary  for 
these  objects  there  will  be  no  invasion,  no  using  of  force  against  or  among 
the  people  anywhere.  Physically  speaking,  we  cannot  separate.  We  cannot 
remove  our  respective  sections  from  each  other,  nor  build  an  impassable  wall 

between  them.  A  husband 
and  wife  may  be  divorced, 
and  go  out  of  the  presence 
and  beyond  the  reach  of  each 
other;  but  the  different  parts 
of  our  country  cannot  do 
this.  They  cannot  but  re 
main  face  to  face;  and  inter 
course,  either  amicable  or 
hostile,  must  continue  be 
tween  them.  It  is  impossible, 
then,  to  make  that  inter 
course  more  advantageous  or 
more  satisfactory  after  sep 
aration  than  before.  Can 
aliens  make  treaties  easier 
than  friends  can  make  laws? 
Can  treaties  be  more  faith 
fully  enforced  between  aliens 
than  laws  can  among  friends  ? 
Suppose  you  go  to  war,  you 
cannot  fight  always;  and 
when,  after  much  loss  on 
both  sides  and  no  gain  on 
either,  you  cease  fighting,  the 
identical  old  questions  as  to 


LINCOLN   WHILE   PRESIDENT. 


Robert  Lincoln,  son  of  the  martyred  president,  was 
shown  sixty  sittings  of  his  father.  In  reply  to  the  ques 
tion  as  to  which  was  the  best  picture,  ho  picked  out  the 
one  above  reproduced. 


terms  of  intercourse  are  again 
upon  you. 

"My  countrymen,  one 
and  all,  think  calmly  and 
well  upon  this  whole  subject.  Nothing  valuable  can  be  lost  by  taking  time. 
If  there  be  an  object  to  hurry  any  of  you  in  hot  haste  to  a  step  which  you 
would  never  take  deliberately,  that  object  will  be  frustrated  by  taking  time;  but 
no  good  can  be  frustrated  by  it.  Such  of  you  as  are  now  dissatisfied  still  have 
the  old  Constitution  unimpaired,  and,  on  the  sensitive  point,  the  laws  of  your 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  147 

own  framing  under  it;  while  the  new  administration  will  have  no  immediate 
power,  if  it  would,  to  change  either.  If  it  were  admitted  that  you  who  are 
dissatisfied  hold  the  right  in  the  dispute,  there  still  is  no  good  single  reason  for 
precipitate  action.  Intelligence,  patriotism,  Christianity,  and  a  firm  reliance  on 
Him  who  has  never  yet  forsaken  this  favored  land,  are  still  competent  to  adjust 
in  the  best  way  all  our  present  difficulty. 

u  In  your  hands  my  dissatisfied  fellow-countrymen,  and  not  in  mine,  is  the 
momentous  issue  of  civil  war.  The  government  will  not  assail  you.  You  can 
have  no  conflict  without  being  yourselves  the  aggressors.  You  have  no  oath 
registered  in  heaven  to  destroy  the  government,  while  I  shall  have  the  most 
solemn  one  to  'preserve,  protect  and  defend1  it. 

u  I  am  loath  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies,  but  friends.  We  must  not  be 
enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  strained,  it  must  not  break  our  bonds  of 
affection.  The  inystic  chords  of  memory,  stretching  from  every  battle-field  and 
patriot  grave  to  every  living  heart  and  hearthstone  all  over  this  broad  land, 
will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union,  when  again  touched,  as  surely  they 
will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature." 

Seven  states,  South  Carolina  at  the  head,  had  already  passed  ordinances  of 
secession,  and  a  confederate  government  had  been  organized  at  Montgomery, 
Alabama.  North  Carolina  still  hesitated,  and  in  some  other  states  there  was  a 
conflict  of  opinion.  Some  of  the  rebel  leaders  believed  that  the  North  would 
not  fight;  that  it  was  divided,  and  that  vast  numbers  of  its  people  would  oppose 
"coercion"  and  perhaps  fight  on  ihe  side  of  the  rebellion.  Benjamin  F.  Butler, 
of  Massachusetts,  had  been  a  supporter  of  Breckinridge,  and  it  was  naturally 
supposed  by  southern  conspirators  that  he  would  be  with  them.  Of  one  of 
them  Mr.  Butler  asked,  uAre  you  prepared  for  war?" 

uBut  there  will  be  no  war;  the  North  will  not  fight,"  was  the  very  prompt 
reply. 

Said  Mr.  Butler,  uThe  North  will  fight;  the  North  will  send  the  last  man 
and  expend  the  last  dollar  to  maintain  the  government.11 

"But,"  said  his  southern  friend,  u the  North  cannot  fight;  we  have  too  many 
allies." 

uYou  have  friends,"  said  Mr.  Butler,  "in  the  North  so  long  as  you  fight 
your  battles  in  the  Union,  but  the  moment  you  fire  on  the  flag,  the  northern 
people  will  be  a  unit  against  you,  and  you  may  be  assured,  if  war  comes, 
slavery  ends." 

By  the  close  of  May,  1861,  eleven  states  were  in  rebellion. 

During  the  last  days  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  administration  Major  Robert  Ander 
son  was  in  command  of  Fort  Sumter,  at  the  mouth  of  Charleston  harbor. 
Anderson  was  a  Kentuckian,  and  the  conspirators  all  about  him  in  Charleston 
assumed  that  he  would  take  sides  with  the  South.  Anderson  listened  to  their 
talk  in  the  social  circles  of  Charleston,  but  kept  his  own  counsel,  and  when  it 
was  rendered  certain  in  his  mind  as  to  their  traitorous  purpose,  he  quietly  with 
drew  to  the  fort  and  ran  up  the  stars  and  stripes.  This  surprised,  excited  and 


148  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

enraged  the  people  of  Charleston.  The  first  thing  to  De  done  by  the  govern 
ment  was  to  provision  the  fort.  The  secessionists  in  the  Cabinet  opposed  this, 
but  finally  two  steamers  loaded  with  supplies  sailed  from  New  York  to  Sumter. 
Jefferson  Davis  and  his  Cabinet  were  in  consultation  at  Montgomery,  and  were 
waiting  for  the  secession  of  Virginia.  Roger  A.  Pryor,  present  from  that  state, 
said,  "I  will  tell  you  what  will  put  Virginia  in  the  Southern  Confederacy  in  less 
than  an  hour;  sprinkle  blood  in  their  faces!" 

General  Beauregard,  located  at  Charleston,  was  ordered  to  demand  the  imme 
diate  surrender  of  Fort  Sumter.  Major  Anderson  replied  promptly,  "  I  cannot 
surrender  the  fort;  I  shall  await  the  first  shot,  and  if  you  do  not  batter  me  to 
pieces,  I  shall  be  starved  out  in  three  days.'1  In  the  early  morning  of  April  12, 
1861,  the  first  shot  was  fired  on  Sumter,  and  the  echoes  of  that  first  shot  rever 
berated  throughout  the  civilized  world. 

It  fired  the  brain  and  heart  of  the  entire  North,  which  was  instantly  con 
vulsed  with  excitement;  there  was  a  great  awakening,  the  like  of  which  had 
never  been  known  in  America,  or  probably  in  the  world.  The  masses  of  the 
people  of  the  North  were  tremendously  wrought  up  and  thoroughly  aroused. 
The  people  of  the  South  had  been  excited  and  aroused  and  preparing  for  war  for 
years.  The  great  body  of  the  men  of  the  North  were  "  Wide- Awakes  "  indeed, 
and  were  now  ready  to  carry  guns  instead  of  simple  banners  and  transparencies, 
and  they  were  anxiously  awaiting  a  call  for  troops.  The  first  shot  at  Sumter 
had  made  the  people,  with  very  few  individual  exceptions,  of  one  heart,  one 
opinion,  one  mind,  and  of  one  purpose.  They  were  in  a  condition  of  exalted, 
and  even  exultant,  patriotism,  and  filled  with  an  enthusiasm  of  a  sort  that  had 
never  been  known.  The  new  patriotism  born  of  this  new  crisis  in  the  affairs 
of  the  country  shone  in  the  white  faces  and  blazing  eyes  of  men  and  women, 
and  even  children,  throughout  the  North.  The  issue  was  plain.  Should  the 
Union  be  preserved?  Should  the  flag  still  float?  Should  the  republic  stand? 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

BEGINNING   OF    THE   CIVIL    WAE. 

MAJOR  ANDERSON'S  provisions  were  gone,  and  he  departed  from  Fort 
Sumter,  April  14,  1861.  The  people  of  Charleston  were  wild  with  excite 
ment.  Governor  Pickens  thanked  God  that  the  day  had  come.  It  seemed  quite 
evident  to  these  men  that  the  battle  had  already  been  at  last  half  won. 
President  Lincoln,  on  April  15th,  three  days  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter, 
issued  a  proclamation  calling  for  75,000  men,  and  summoned  Congress  to  meet  in 
extra  session  on  July  4,  1861.  The  people  were  ready  for  it.  Never  was  a 
call  for  troops  more  promptly  and  even  enthusiastically  met;  there  was  hardly  a 
syllable  of  protest  in  any  part  of  the  northern  states.  Many  uniformed  reg 
iments  in  various  states  reported  at  places  of  rendezvous  in  their  entirety. 
Thousands  of  individuals  commenced  the  raising  of  companies.  Some  men 
recruited  entire  regiments,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  75,000  men  were  ready 
for  duty.  The  most  extraordinary  promptness  and  efficiency  were  shown  in 
equipping  the  troops  and  gathering  supplies.  Never  were  the  noblest  and 
grandest  qualities  of  the  American  people  displayed  to  better  advantage  than  in 
this  great  emergency.  The  patriotism  of  the  young  men  of  the  North  was 
universal,  spontaneous  and  sublime,  and  the  spirit  of  the  women  corresponded 
with  that  of  the  men. 

Two  days  later  Virginia  seceded  from  the  Union;  Arkansas  followed  May 
6th,  and  North  Carolina  lowered  the  stars  and  stripes  on  the  twentieth.  There 
were  so  many  strong  and  true  Union  men  in  the  mountains  of  East  Tennessee  that 
the  disunionists  could  not  withdraw  that  state  until  June  8th.  In  Missouri 
there  was  a  conflict  between  unionists  and  disunionists,  and  Kentucky  tried  to  be 
neutral.  Maryland  was  divided  in  sentiment,  but  some  of  the  bitterest  and  most 
insidious  foes  of  the  Union  were  gathered  in  and  about  Baltimore. 

On  April  19th,  the  president  issued  a  proclamation  providing  for  the  blockading 
of  the  forts  of  the  seceded  states. 

On  the  same  day,  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  01  Lexington,  the  first  reg- 
imenb  of  Massachusetts  volunteers  attempted  to  pass  through  Baltimore.  On 
the  eighteenth  the  first  section  of  Pennsylvania  troops  had  passed  through  quietly 
and  unmolested.  The  Sixth  Massachusetts  and  the  Seventh  Pennsylvania  reg 
iments  arrived  at  eleven  in  the  morning.  Meanwhile  the  passions  of  "the  people 

149 


150 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 


had  been  still  further  excited  by  the  announcement  of  the  evacuation  of  Harper's 
Ferry  by  the  Federal  troops.  The  Massachusetts  regiment  occupied  eleven  cars, 
and  these  were,  according  to  the  then  existing  regulations,  drawn  through  the 
streets  of  the  city,  singly,  by  horses  to  the  Camden  street  depot.  An  ominous- 
looking  mob  had  assembled,  but  at  first  a  sullen  silence  was  maintained.  Ere  the 
cars  had  gone  a  couple  of  blocks,  however,  the  crowd  became  so  dense  that  the 
horses  could  barely  force  their  way  through.  Then  began  a  chorus  of  hoots 
•and  yells,  mingled  with  threats.  The  troops  remained  quiet,  and  this,  instead  of 

appeasing,  appeared  to  anger 
the  rioters.  Brickbats  and 
stones  were  hurled,  and  it 
became  evident  that  these 
missiles  were  not  acciden 
tally  at  hand.  Many  of  the 
men  were  wounded,  but  the 
first  eight  cars  reached  Cam- 
den  street  depot  without 
serious  damage.  The  ninth 
car  was  not  so  fortunate,  for 
a  defective  brake  caused  a 
halt  at  Gay  street,  and  the 
mob,  now  numbering  from 
8,000  to  10,000,  made  a 
furious  onslaught.  This  car, 
with  some  damrge,  also 
reached  the  Camden  street 
depot.  Behind  it,  however, 
were  two  other  cars  con 
fronted  by  a  barricade  has 
tily  constructed  of  anchors 
and  other  materials  dragged 
from  the  wharf.  Finding 
further  transportation  im 
possible,  the  soldiers  were 
ordered  to  leave  the  cars,  and 
were  formed  into  close  col 
umns  under  Captain  A.  S. 
Follansbee,  of  Company  C, 
'  of  Lowell.  With  fixed  bay 
onets  they  advanced  on  the  double-quick  in  the  direction  of  the  Washington 
station.  The  mob  closed  on  them,  muskets  were  snatched  away,  and  amid 
throwing  of  missiles,  revolver-shots,  and  bullets  from  the  stolen  muskets,  the 
patience  of  the  troops  at  last  gave  way.  Two  of  their  number  had  been  killed, 
and  several  wounded  had  been  taken  within  the  solid  square  which  was  now 


NORMAN  B.  JUDD. 

Intimate  friend  and  fellow-attorney.  Mr.  Judd  was 
the  chairman  of  the  Illinois  delegation  to  the  convention 
that  nominated  Lincoln.  He  was  chairman  of  the  state 
central  committee  of  Illinois  during  the  canvass.  He  was 
born  in  1815,  and  died  in  1878. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


151 


formed.  An  order  was  given  to  turn  and  fire  singly;  there  was  no  platoon 
firing,  or  the  carnage  in  that  dense  mass  would  have  been  appalling.  On  Pratt 
street,  near  Gay  street,  one  man  was  crushed  by  a  stone  or  heavy  piece  of  iron 
thrown  from  a  window.  After  a  protracted  struggle  the  troops  reached  the 
depot,  bearing  with  them  their  dead,  now  increased  to  three,  and  nine  wounded 
comrades,  one  of  them  mortally  injured.  They  were  hustled  into  the  train  and 
sent  off,  but  the  m  )b  followed  for  a  considerable  distance,  and  made  frantic 
efforts  to  throw  the  cars  from  the  track.  In  the  streets  nine  of.  the  Balti- 
morians  had  been  killed  and  a  great  number  wounded.  The  mayor  of  Baltimore 
had  headed  the  column  for  a  short  time,  but  he  could  not  allay  the  storm  he  had 
raised,  and  finding  his  person  in  danger,  he  disappeared. 

The  Philadelphia  troops,  not  yet  armed,  were  with  difficulty  extricated  from 
the    mob    and   taken 
back  to  Philadelphia. 

On  the  twentieth, 
Norfolk  was  attacked, 
and  the  Federal  troops 
spiked  the  guns  and 
retired. 

Virginia  was  rap 
idly  filled  with  south 
ern  volunteers,  and, 
as  they  were  aggres 
sive,  even  the  city  of 
Washington  was 
threatened. 

The  Massachusetts 
Eighth  and  the  famous 
New  York  Seventh 
were  in  Washington 
by  April  25th,  and  the 
Capitol  was  safe  for 
ever  thereafter. 

Cairo,  Illinois,  was  also  occupied  by  Union  troops.  John  M.  Johnson, 
senator  from  Kentucky,  sent  a  solemn  protest  to  the  president,  who  promptly 
replied:  "If  I  had  suspected  that  Cairo,  in  Illinois,  was  in  Doctor  Johnson's 
senatorial  district,  I  would  hive  thought  twice  before  sending  troops  to  Cairo. "' 
This  ended  that  controversy. 

By  May  24th,  about  twenty  thousand  troops  had  arrived  in  Washington.  The 
rebels  had  been  flaunting  their  new  flag  at  Alexandria,  Virginia,  but  troops  were- 
sent  across  the  Potomac  to  take  possession  of  the  place.  Among  them  were 
Colonel  Ellsworth's  zouaves.  Colonel  Ellsworth,  who  had  studied  law  in  Lincoln  V 
office  at  Springfield,  and  who  was  one  of  the  party  who  accompanied  him  to 
Washington,  saw  a  Confederate  flag  waving  above  the  Marshall  hou?e,  kept  by  a 


HARPER'S    FERRY,    VIRGINIA. 


152  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Mr.  Jackson.  He  went  to  the  roof  and  tore  it  down,  and  upon  reaching  the  foot 
•of  the  stairs,  was  shot  down  by  Jackson,  who,  in  turn,  was  promptly  killed  by  a 
New  York  zouave. 

On  the  third  of  May,  Mr.  Lincoln  saw  the  necessity  of  calling  for  more 
troops,  and  issued  a  proclamation  asking  for  83,000  men,  to  be  enlisted  for  three 
years  or  during  the  war! 

The  Union  army,  which  had  b?en  organized  at  Washington,  crossed  the 
Potomac  on  the  long  bridge  May  24th,  and  entered  Virginia.  General  Magruder 
had  a  band  of  Confederates  at  Bethel  church;  Union  troops  were  sent  to  dislodge 
him,  but  were  driven  back,  with  loss.  General  George  B.  McClellan,  the  former 
Illinois  railway  superintendent,  had  undertaken  the  conquest  of  West  Virginia, 
•and  gained  a  victory  at  Rich  Mountain,  July  llth.  General  Rosecrans  defeated 
Floyd  at  Carnifex  Ferry,  August  10th,  and  Robert  E.  Lee  was  driven  back  from 
€heat  Mountain,  September  14th,  thus  restoring  West  Virginia  to  Federal  authority. 

Men  who  pretended  to  be  in  favor  of  peace,  but  whose  real  purpose  was  to 
prevent  warlike  demonstrations  on  the  part  of  the  government,  while  seeming 
to  have  no  desire  that  preparations  of  the  same  sort  should  be  suspended  at  the 
South,  made  themselves  very  conspicuous  with  their  advice  to  the  government, 
and  continued  their  demonstrations  throughout  the  entire  conflict. 

Congress  met  in  extra  session  July  4th,  in  response  to  the  president's  procla 
mation.  The  Republicans  had  control  of  both  houses,  and  a  large  number  of 
Democrats  joined  the  Republicans  in  standing  by  the  president  in  his  efforts  to 
preserve  the  Union. 

The  ablest  and  yet  the  fairest  man  among  the  Confederates  was  Alexander 
H.  Stephens,  the  man  whose  speech  Mr.  Lincoln  had  so  greatly  admired  so  many 
years  before.  Jefferson  Davis  was  far  inferior  to  him  in  force  and  dignity.  He 
was  a  small  man,  and  physically  very  feeble,  but  in  intellectual  power  he  was  a 
giant,  and  in  spite  of  his  environments,  was  really  in  favor  of  peace  and  union. 
But,  as  we  have  already  stated,  Mr.  Stephens  had  declared  that  he  would  go  with 
his  state.  He  went  out  of  the  Union,  and  was  now  vice-president  of  the  Confed 
eracy,  with  Davis  as  chief  executive. 

The  headquarters  of  the  Confederacy  were  removed  from  Montgomery, 
Alabama,  to  Richmond,  Virginia,  July  20th.  Prior  to  that  time  Robert  E.  Lee,  of 
Virginia,  had  resigned  his  office  of  colonel  in  the  United  States  army  and  had 
accepted  a  general's  commission  in  the  Confederate  army. 

Lieutenant-general  Winfield  Scott  was  now  in  command  of  the  Union  forces'. 
The  stanch  old  patriot  had  been  .approached  by  a  deputation  of  southerners 
and  offered  the  command  of  the  military  forces  of  Virginia,  but  he  had  promptly 
declined  the  offer.  In  his  reply  to  the  deputation  he  had  said: 

"  I  have  served  my  country  under  the  flag  of  the  Union  for  more  than  fifty 
years,  and  as  long  as  God  permits  me  to  live  I  will  defend  that  flag  with  my  sword, 
even  if  my  own  native  state  assails  it."  About  the  same  time  General  Scott,  April 
21st,  telegraphed  to  Senator  Crittenden,  of  Kentucky:  "I  have  not  changed; 
liave  no  thought  of  changing;  always  a  Union  man." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

BATTLE  OF  BULL  RUN — PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR. 

BEAUREGARD  and  Joseph  E.  Johnston  had  concentrated  the  Confederate 
troops  in  Virginia,  at  no  great  distance  from  the  Potomac,  and  on  July  16thr 
the  Union  army  made  an  advance  toward  the  enemy.  The  first  clash  of  arms 
took  place  between  Centerville  and  Bull  Run.  The  Unionists  then  pressed  on, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-first  came  upon  the  Confederates,  well  posted, 
at  a  point  between  Bull  Run  and  Manassas  Junction.  The  first  great  battle  of 
the  war  was  here  fought,  and  with  great  valor  on  both  sides.  At  midday  it 
seemed  that  the  Union  general,  McDowell,  would  gain  the  victory,  but  finally,  in 
the  crisis  of  the  conflict,  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  arrived  from  the  Shenandoah 
valley  with  nearly  six  thousand  fresh  troops,  made  an  attack  on  the  Union 
forces,  and  the  tide  was  turned.  McDowell's  whole  army  was  hurled  back,  and 
his  men  were  soon  in  full  retreat  toward  Washington.  The  Union  loss  in  killed, 
wounded  and  prisoners  was  2,952;  that  of  the  Confederates,  2,050.  Happily,  the- 
victors  were  too  badly  crippled  to  pursue.  This  engagement  was  known  at  the 
North  as  the  battle  of  Bull  Run;  the  southerners  called  it  the  battle  of  Manassas, 

The  defeat  of  the  Federal  army  covered  the  entire  North  with  gloom.  The 
friends  of  the  Union  had  expected  a  great  victory.  But  the  lesson  was  whole 
some.  The  people  became  more  determined  than  ever,  and  their  quality  was 
shown  in  immense  contributions  for  the  support  of  the  Union  cause.  Meanwhile 
the  southern  people  were  in  transports  over  a  dearly  bought  and  decidedly 
doubtful  victory — a  victory  that  in  the  end  caused  them  much  more  harm  than 
would  have  resulted  from  a  defeat. 

During  the  summer  several  naval  expeditions  were  sent  out. 

The  Confederates  made  strong  efforts  to  capture  Missouri.  Camp  Jackson 
was  formed  by  them  near  St.  Louis,  but  it  was  broken  up  by  Captain  Nathaniel 
Lyon.  The  rebel  General  Price  defeated  Colonel  Mulligan  at  Lexington. 
General  John  C.  Fremont  was  in  command  in  Missouri,  but  he  was  superseded  by 
General  David  Hunter,  and  he  in  turn  by  General  Halleck.  Lexington  was 
subsequently  retaken  by  the  Federals,  and  Price  retired  into  Arkansas. 

In  November,  1861,  General  Winfield  Scott  sent  his  resignation  to  the  pres 
ident,  which  was  received  with  great  regret.  General  George  B.  'McClellan 
succeeded  Scott.  McClellan  was  spoken  of  by  some  as  a  "political"  general, 

153 


154 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


and  it  was  charged  that  while  he  desired  to  put  down  the  rebellion,  he  seemed 
quite  anxious  that  the  institution  of  human  slavery  should  not  be  interfered 
with.  On  the  other  hand,  General  John  C.  Fremont,  who  had  been  honored 
by  being  the  first  Republican  candidate  for  the  presidency  (and  who  was  a 
son-in-law  of  Thomas  H.  Benton),  contended  that  the  abolition  of  slavery  was 
one  great  purpose  of  the  war.  But  Abraham  Lincoln  soon  gave  not  .only 
William  H.  Seward,  his  secretary  of  state,  but  these  generals,  who  were 
exceeding  their  authority  on  one  side  or  the  other,  to  understand  that  he  was 
president.  No  man  can  imagine  the  immense  responsibility  that  was  resting 
upon  the  mind  and  heart  of  this  supremely  great  man,  elevated  to  this  high 
position  through  the  providence  of  God  to  save  the  country,  and  to  make  it  a 


UNITED  STATES   CAPITOL,    WASHINGTON,   P.   C. 

free  land.  There  was  no  stronger  man  in  America,  and  therefore  none  upon 
whom  he  could  lean.  He  was  at  this  time  the  greatest  representative  of  the 
rights  of  man  in  all  the  world.  No  such  political  or  national  emergency  had 
ever  arisen  before;  every  disaster  caused  him  the  deepest  sorrow;  every  Union 
success  on  the  battle-field  gave  him  comfort.  No  man  was  ever  more  widely 
advised,  nor  did  ever  the  advice  given  by  men  differ  more  radically.  He  was 
asked  to  do  all  sorts  of  things,  and  not  to  do  all  sorts  of  things.  Bodies  of 
preachers  advised  him  to  bring  about  peace.  These  men  had  prayed  over  the 
matter,  and  had  had  direct  advice  from  the  Almighty  that  their  course  was 
approved. .  Others  were  praying  for  the  immediate  emancipation  of  the  slaves, 
and  they  also  claimed  to  have  advices  from  the  same  source  that  confirmed  their 
opinions. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


155 


It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  to  be  kept  in  ignorance 
of  the  purposes  and  will  of  the  Almighty.  Perhaps  he  heard  voices,  such  as 
Joan  of  Arc  had  heard  in  another  century  and  on  another  continent.  At  any 
rate,  he  was  not  only  the  greatest  man  of  his  time,  but  the  wisest  and  the 
strongest.  His  settled  purpose  reached  out  to  a  time  and  to  an  event  of  which 
his  immediate  friends  were  not  advised,  and  the  problem  of  the  age,  fortunately 
for  him  and  for  the'present  generation,  was  being  providentially  worked  out. 

In  November,  1861,  the  rebels  Mason  and  Slidell,  of  Virginia,  who  had  been 
appointed  as  commissioners 
from  the  Confederate  states 
to  England  and  France,  took 
passage  on  the  British  mail- 
steamer  Trent,  which  was 
hailed  on  the  eighth  by  the 
United  States  frigate  San 
Jacinto,  Captain  Wilkes,  and 
brought  to  by  a  shot  across 
her  bows.  Mason  and  Sli 
dell  were  taken  prisoners, 
brought  to  the  United  States, 
and  lodged  in  Fort  Warren. 
Although  this  act  of  Cap 
tain  Wilkes  excited  much 
admiration  and  exultation, 
it  was  almost  instantly  seen 
by  the  president  and  his 
advisory  that  the  act  was 
illegal  and  must  be  dis 
avowed,  and  the  men  were 
promptly  released,  with  an 
•apology.  In  this  matter  the 
practical  wisdom  and  pru 
dence  of  William  H.  Seward, 
then  secretary  of  state,  was  DOUGLAS  MONUMENT,  CHICAGO. 

conspicuously     shown.      He 

was  one  of  the  greatest  men  who  ever  held  this  high  and  exalted  position. 
At.  the  same  time  the  course  so  happily  determined  upon  was  due  to  the 
strong  common  sense  and  shrewd  wisdom  of  President  Lincoln,  who  was  at  pains 
to  revise,  and  in  some  instances  extensively  alter  with  his  own  hand,  some  of  the 
more  important  documents  that  were  sent  to  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  minister 
at  London.  This  most  important  chapter  of  American  diplomacy  fell  to  Mr. 
Lincoln's  lot  to  make  up  at  a  time  when  he  was  overwhelmed  with  the  burden 
of  home  affairs.  Probably  nothing  in  his  whole  career  better  illustrates  the 
surprising  resources  of  his  mind.  The  readiness  and  ability  with  which  he  met 


156  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

this  perilous  emergency,  in  a  field  entirely  new  to  his  experience,  was  most 
admirable,  as  also  was  his  cool  courage  and  self-reliance  in  following  a  course 
radically  opposed  to  the  prevailing  sentiment  throughout  the  country  and  in 
Congress,  and  ta  the  advice  of  his  own  Cabinet.  Secretary  Welles  hastened  to 
approve  officially  the  act  of  Captain  Wilkes,  Secretary  Stanton  publicly 
applauded,  and  even  Mr.  Seward,  whose  long  public  career  had  made  him  espec 
ially  conservative,  stated  that  he  was  opposed  to  any  concession  or  surrender  of 
Mason  and  Slidell.  But  Mr.  Lincoln,  with  great  sagacity,  simply  said,  "One  war 
at  a  time."  The  result  was  the  country  was  saved  a  foreign  war  that  would  have 
meant  the  recognition  by  Europe  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  with  the  latter's 
almost  certain  success  in  achieving  independence. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  as  usual,  had  a  "  little  story  "  on  the  Trent  affair.  When  asked 
whether  it  was  not  a  great  trial  to  surrender  the  two  captured  commissioners,  he 
said:  "Yes,  that  was  a  pretty  bitter  pill  to  swallow,  but  I  contented  myself  with 
believing  that  England's  triumph  in  the  matter  would  be  short-lived,  and  that 
after  ending  our  wrar  successfully  we  should  be  so  powerful  that  we  could  call 
England  to  account  for  all  the  embarrassments  she  had  inflicted  upon  us.  I  felt 
a  good  deal  like  the  sick  man  in  Illinois,  who  was  told  he  probably  hadn't  many 
days  longer  to  live,  and  he  ought  to  make  peace  with  any  enemies  he  might  have. 
He  said  the  man  he  hated  worst  of  all  was  a  fellow  named  Brown,  in  the  next 
village,  and  he  guessed  he  had  better  commence  on  him  first.  So  Brown  was 
sent  for,  and  when  he  came  the  sick  man  began  to  say,  in  a  voice  as  meek  as 
Moses,  that  he  wanted  to  die  at  peace  with  all  his  fellow-creatures,  and  hoped  he 
and  Brown  could  now  shake  hands  and  bury  all  their  enmity.  The  scene  was 
becoming  altogether  too  pathetic  for  Brown,  who  had  to  get  out  his  handker 
chief  and  wipe  the  gathering  tears  from  his  eyes.  It  wasn't  long  before  he 
melted  and  gave  his  hand  to  his  neighbor,  and  they  had  a  regular  love-feast. 
After  a  parting  that  would  have  softened  the  heart  of  a  grindstone,  Brown  had 
about  reached  the  room  door,  when  the  sick  man  rose  up  on  his  elbow  and  said, 
'But  see  here,  Brown;  if  I  should  happen  to  get  well,  mind,  that  old  grudge 
stands.'  So  I  thought  if  this  nation  should  happen  to  get  well,  we  might  want 
that  old  grudge  against  England  to  stand." 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year  there  was  a  decided  change  for  the  better  in 
the  situation,  as  viewed  from  the  Federal  standpoint.  Not  only  were  the 
Confederate  forces  dislodged  from  West  Virginia,  but  they  were  driven  out  of 
Kentucky  and  Missouri,  reviving  the  hope  throughout  the  North  that  the  war 
would  not  be  of  long  duration,  and  that  it  would  end  in  the  triumph  of  the 
Union  cause. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE   CAMPAIGNS   OF   1862. 

AT  the  opening  of  1862  the  Union  army  was  450,000  strong.  Edwin  M. 
Stantoii  succeeded  Simon  Cameron  as  secretary  of  war,  having  been  called 
into  the  Cabinet  by  the  same  ulong,  lank"  individual  whom  he  had  affected  so  to 
-despise  many  years  before  at  the  trial  of  the  famous  "  reaper  case."  General 
McClellan  was  organizing  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  the  vicinity  of  Washing 
ton,  while  General  Don  Carlos  Buell  commanded  a  strong  force  at  Louisville, 
Kentucky. 

Colonel  James  A.  Garfield  (the  future  president  of  the  United  States,  who  was 
to  die  as  did  Mr.  Lincoln,  by  the  bullet  of  an  assassin)  defeated  a  force  of  Con 
federates  on  January  9th,  on  the  Big  Sandy  river,  in  Kentucky.  Ten  days  later, 
at  Mill  Spring,  General  George  H.  Thomas,  afterward  one  of  the  greatest  of 
Union  generals,  defeated  Crittenden  and  Zollieoffer  in  the  same  neighborhood, 
and  Zollicoffer  was  killed. 

Fort  Henry,  on  the  Tennessee  river,  in  Kentucky,  and  Fort  Donelson,  in 
Tennessee,  on  the  Cumberland,  had  been  erected  and  operated  by  the  Con 
federates.  Commodore  Foote  was  sent  up  the  Tennessee  with  a  flotilla,  and  com 
pelled  the  evacuation  of  Fort  Henry,  the  rebels  retiring,  with  some  loss,,  to 
Donelson.  The  gunboats  were  then  ordered  to  Donelson.  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  of 
Illinois,  who  had  been  with  Foote  at  Fort  Henry,  now  advanced  to  Fort  Donel 
son  and  began  to  besiege  it.  Grant  had  30,000  men,  and  after  two  days1  fight 
ing,  forced  General  Buckner  to  an  "unconditional  and  immediate  surrender." 
Buckner's  army  of  ten  thousand  men  were  made  prisoners  of  war,  and  valuable 
stores  of  ammunition,  guns  and  supplies  were  taken. 

There  was  universal  rejoicing  throughout  the  North  over  this  great  victory. 
As  a  consequence  of  the  capture  of  Donelson,  Governor  Harris,  of  Tennessee, 
gathered  up  his  archives  and  evacuated  Nashville. 

Grant  ascended  the  Tennessee  to  Pittsburg  Landing,  where  the  memorable 
battle  0f  Shiloh  was  fought.  He  was  there  attacked  on  the  morning  of  Mnrch  6th, 
by  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  and  Beauregard,  with  a  large  force.  There  was  hard 
fighting  during  the  day,  with  the  advantage  apparently  in  favor  of  the  rebels, 
but  at°night  Buell  arrived  with  a  large  number  of  troops  from  Nashville,  and 
Orant  assumed  the  offensive.  Johnston  had  already  fallen,  and  on  the  second 

157 


158 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


day  of  the  battle  Beauregard  was  driven,  with  the  remainder  of  his  army,  from 
the  field,  on  the  route  toward  Corinth,  Mississippi.  The  slaughter  on  both 
sides  during  the  two  days'  fighting  was  terrible,  each  army  losing  10,000  men. 

In  March,  18Q2,  a  bill  was  passed  providing  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  President  Lincoln  sent  a  message  to  Congress 
announcing  his  approval  of  the  bill.  Mr.  Lincoln  then  proposed  to  Congress  a 
resolution  providing  that  the  United  States,  in  order  to  co-operate  with  any 
state  which  may  adopt  gradually  the  abolition  of  slavery,  give  to  such  state 

pecuniary  aid,  to  be  used  by 
such  state  at  its  discretion. 
No  state  offered  to  accept 
this  proposition. 

At  about  this  time  General 
Butler,  in  command  at  Fort 
ress  Monroe,  advised  Lincoln 
that  he  had  determined  to 
regard>all  slaves  coining  into 
his  camps  as  contraband  of 
war,  and  to  employ  their 
labor  under  fair  compensa 
tion;  and  the  secretary  of  war 
replied  to  him,  in  behalf  of 
the  president,  approving  his 
course,  and  saying,  "You  are 
not  to  interfere  between  mas 
ter  and  slave  on  the  one 
hand,  nor  surrender  slaves 
who  may  come  within  your 
lines."  This  was  a  significant 
milestone  of  progress  to  the 
great  end  that  was  theieafter 
to  be  reached. 

In  May,  Senator  Douglas 
died  at  Chicago.  By  his 


LEONARD   SVVETT. 


Mr.  Swett  became  acquainted  with  Lincoln  in  1848, 
and  was  very  intimate  with  him  until  the  time  of  his 
assassination.  They  traveled  the  circuit  together,  and  Mr. 
Swett  and  David  Davis  were  the  two  Illinois  friends  who 
wrere  consulted  in  forming  the  first  Cabinet.  Lincoln 
spoke  of  Swett  as  the  "intimate  friend  who  never  sought 
office." 


patriotic  course  he  had  turned 
the  great  multitude  of  his 
followers  in  the  North  to  the 
support  of  Lincoln. 

Lincoln's  eldest  son,  Rob 
ert  Todd,  was  at  this  time  in 

Harvard  University,  but  Willie  and  Tom  were  in  the  White  House   with  their 

father  and  mother.     Both. of  the  boys  were  seized  with  illness,  and  Willie  died. 

This  naturally  added  to  the  burden  which  was  already  weighing  so  heavily  upon 

the  president. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


159 


On  the  sixth  of  March,  General  Curtis  defeated  20,000  Confederates  and 
Indians  at  Pea  Ridge,  Arkansas. 

About  this  time  important  events  were  occurring  at  Fortress  Monroe,  in 
Virginia,  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  Captain  John  Ericsson,  an  inventor,  and  a  man 
of  wealth,  great  liberality  and  patriotism, had  invented  and  completed  a  "peculiar 
war-vessel,  with  a  single  round  tower  of  iron  exposed  above  the  water  line.1' 
[Ridpath.J 

The  Confederates  had  raised  the  frigate  Merrimac,  which  had  been  sunk  by 
ihe  Union  forces  at  the  Norfolk  navy-yard,  and  had  plated  it  with  "impenetrable 
mail  of  iron."  Reaching  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Fortress  Monroe  on 
March  8th,  this  formidable  vessel  attacked  and  sunk  the  United  States  vessels 
Cumberland  and  Congress.  But  here  its  conquering  career  suddenly  came  to 
an  end,  for,  during  the  night,  Captain  Ericsson's  strange  vessel,  which  was 
called  the  Monitor,  arrived  from  New  York,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  ninth 
these  two  monsters  of  the  deep 
turned  their  guns  upon  each 
other.  After  five  hours  of 
fighting,  the  rebel  ironclad 
gave  up  the  contest,  and 
slipped  away,  badly  damaged, 
to  Norfolk. 

Earlier  than  this,  General 
Burnside  and  Commodore 
Goldsborough  had  captured 
Roanoke  island.  B  urnside  also 
captured  Newberne,  North 
Carolina,  March  14th,  and 
Beaufort.  South  Carolina, 
April  25th.  General  Quincy 

A.  Gilmore  took  Fort  Pulaski,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Savannah,  April  llth. 
Early  in  the  same  month  a  powerful  squadron,  commanded  by  General 
Benjamin  F.  Butler  and  Admiral  Farragut,  entered  the  Mississippi  and  proceeded 
as  far  as  Fort  Jackson  and  St.  Phillip,  thirty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
Here  they  commenced  a  furious  bombardment  of  the  forts,  which  were  situated 
on  opposite  sides  of  the  river.  Finally,  April  24th,  they  ran  the  batteries,  broke 
the  blockade,  and  on  the  memorable  day  of  April  25,  1862,  reached  New  Orleans, 
and  took  possession  of  the  city,  thus  closing  the  mouth  of  the  great  Mississippi 
against  the  Confederates.  This  was  one  of  the  great  achievements  of  the  war. 

At  this  periol  there  was  a  great  pressure  on  the  president  in  behalf  of  the 
emancipation  of  slaves.  It  is  now  well  known  that  his  purpose  to  free  them  at 
the  proper  time  was  as  strong  as  the  purpose  of  any  man  in  his  country.  He  had 
his  own  plan,  and  the  result  shows  that  it  was  the  only  one  that  was  practicable. 

Two  men  at  this  time  were  contributing  in  no  small  degree  toward  relieving 
ihe  minds  of  the  president  and  the  people  of  their  burden  of  anxiety  and  worry, 


THE  CONFEDERATE-FLAG. 


160  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

by  writing  humorous  articles  for  the  press  on  the  situation.  These  men  were 
Charles  Farrar  Browne,  known  as  u  Artemus  Ward,"  and  David  R.  Locke,  known 
as  "Rev.  Petroleum  Vesuvius  Nasby."  Lincoln  laughed  heartily  at  Artemus- 
Ward's  badly  spelled  but  exceedingly  droll  utterances,  arid  it  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  they  had  a  tendency  to  relieve  the  strain  of  his  mind  and  nervous  system. 
Petroleum  V.  Nasby  assumed  to  be  a  Kentucky  Democrat,  opposed  to  the  war  to 
uphold  the  government;  his  letters  were  the  literary  features  of  the  hour.  He  so 
truthfully  represented  the  utterances  of  the  anti-war  Democrats,  especially  those 


PRESIDENT    LINCOLN   AND   GENERAL    McCLELLAN. 

This  picture  was  made  by  the  government  photographer  when  the  president  was  calling 
on  General  McClellan,  at  his  tent  at  Antietam,  October  3,  1862.  Before  them,  on  the  table,  are 
maps  and  plans,  and  these  great  characters  are  discussing  the  situation. 

of  the  border  states,  that  the  pretended  letters  were  believed  to  be  genuine  in 
many  quarters.  Indeed,  it  was  found  necessary  by  some  of  these  Democrats  to 
disavow  the  sentiments  therein  expressed;  the  so-called  arguments  placed  these 
Democrats  who  were  opposing  the  war,  and  organizing  to  resist  drafts,  in  such  a 
light  as  to  make  them  utterly  and  supremely  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  patriots. 

On  July  14th,  the  president  called  for  an  army  of  four  hundred  thousand  men, 
and  for  four  hundred  millions  of  dollars  in  money.  Both  requests  were  promptly 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


161 


granted.  At  this  time  the  cry  was,  u  On  to  Richmond!"  and  great  expectations 
were  entertained  of  General  McClellan,  who  had  exceptional  qualifications  by 
nature  and  training  for  organizing,  equipping  and  drilling  an  army,  but  seemed 
almost  utterly  lacking  in  power  of  making  aggressive  military  movements. 

The  rebels,  under  General  Kirby  Smith,  took  the  aggressive  August  30th, 
advancing  toward  the  Ohio  river.  General  Bragg  co-operated  with  him, 
advancing  from  Chattanooga  to  Mumfordsville,  where,  on  September  17th,  he 
took  4,500  Federal  prisoners.  Bragg  then  started  for  Louisville,  but  was  inter 
cepted  by  General  Buell. 
Smith's  objective  point  was 
Cincinnati,  but  General  Lew 
Wallace  was  there;  tens  of 
thousands  of  Ohio  and  In 
diana  "  squirrel-hunters,11  as 
they  were  called,  rallied  at 
his  call,  and  Smith,  after 
coming  in  sight  of  the  Queen 
City,  took  a  sober  second 
thought  and  retired. 

Rosecrans  and  Grant  de 
feated  Price  at  luka,  Septem 
ber  19th.  Price  was  again 
repulsed  October  3d,  when, 
with  Vari  Dorn,  he  advanced 
on  Corinth. 

In  Dajember  occurred  the 
great  battle  of  Murfreesbor- 
ough,  in  which  Bragg  was 
defeated  on  the  banks  of 
Stone  river,  by  Rosecrans. 
In  the  first  day's  conflict  a 
portion  of  the  Union  forces 
was  shattered.  The  brunt 
of  the  battle  now  fell  on 
Thomas,  and  he  was  crowded 
back.  Rosecrans,  however, 
readjusted  his  lines,  and  as 
the  result  of  "the  unparalleled  heroism  of  William  B.  Hazen,  who,  with  1,300 
men,11  stayed  the  onward  course  of  the  rebels,  the  Federal  lines  were  com 
pletely  restored.  New-Year's  morning,  1863,  found  Rosecrans  strongly  posted, 
and.  ready  for  renewal  of  the  conflict.  On  the  second  the  battle  was  renewed, 
and  finally  Bragg  and  his  host  were  driven  back,  with  great  slaughter. 

In  Virginia,  Banks  met  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  effective  of  Confederate 
generals,  "Stonewall11  Jackson,  and  was  driven  back.     The  Union  forces  were 


JUDGE  N.    M.   BROADWELL. 

One  of  Lincoln's  personal  friends  and  colleagues  at 
the  Springfield  bar. 


162  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

defeated  at  Fort  Royal.  Fremont  drove  back  Jackson  at  Cross  Keys,  and  Jackson 
then  defeated  General  Shields  at  Port  Republic,  and  passed  on  to  assist  in  defend 
ing  Richmond,  the  rebel  capital. 

At  last,  March  10,  1862,  McClellan,  with  200,000  men,  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  began  the  long  march  to  the  Confederate  capital;  the  cry  of  U0n  to 
Richmond!1'  had  at  last  had  its  effect.  At  Manassas  Junction  the  Confederates 
fell  back.  McClellan,  at  this  point,  changed  his  plan  and  embarked  120,000  of 
his  men  to  Fortress  Monroe.  This  force  advanced  to  Yorktown,  which  was  taken. 
An  advance  was  then  made  to  Williamsburg,  where  the  rebels  were  defeated, 
with  a  severe  loss,  as  they  were  again  at  West  Point,  and  the  Union  forces  passed 
on  to  the  Chickahominy,  crossed  it,  and  were  within  ten  miles  of  Richmond. 

Meanwhile,  May  10th,  General  Wool  advanced  on  Norfolk  and  captured  it;  on 
the  eleventh  the  rebels  sunk  their  own  ironclad,  the  Virginia,  which  the  Monitor 
had  disabled,  at  Fortress  Monroe.  May  31st,  McClellan  advanced  to  within 
seven  miles  of  Richmond,  at  Fair  Oaks,  or  Seven  Pines,  where  he  met  the  Con 
federates,  and  after  two  days'  fighting,  drove  them  back,  with  considerable  loss. 
Robert  E.  Lee,  the  greatest  and  most  popular  of  the  rebel  military  leaders,  now 
took  the  chief  command,  and  became  aggressive.  After  seven  days  of  continuous 
and  very  severe  fighting,  Lee  was  beaten  at  Malvern  Hill,  twelve  miles  from 
Richmond,  and  McClellan  might  then  have  advanced  and  captured  the  Confed 
erate  capital.  Instead,  however,  he  retired  to  Harrison's  Landing,  a  few  miles 
down  the  river. 

Lee,  now  confident  that  Richmond  was  safe  from  capture  by  McClellan, 
moved  northward,  about  the  middle  of  August,  with  the  purpose  of  invading 
Maryland.  Meanwhile  Stonewall  Jackson  was  flying  about,  attacking  and 
harassing  the  Union  forces.  An  undecisive  second  battle,  August  28th  and  29th, 
was  fought  at  Manassas  Junction,  the  old  Bull  Run  battle-ground.  There  were 
several  collisions  and  much  hard  fighting,  and  Lee  finally  crossed  the  Potomac 
into  Maryland  at  Point  of  Rocks,  and  on  September  6th  took  possession  of 
Frederick.  McClellan's  whole  force  had  followed  Lee,  and  on  the  night  of  the 
fourteenth  were  at  Antietam  creek.  Hooker  was  with  McClellan.  On  Septem 
ber  17th  was  fought  the  great  battle  of  Antietam,  in  which  the  Confederates 
were  disastrously  defeated.  Lee,  in  the  month's  operation,  had  lost  30,000  men. 
McClellan  followed  the  retreating  Confederates  back  into  Virginia. 

A  series  of  changes  in  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  began 
October  7th.  The  president,  finally  yielding  to  his  own  convictions,  spurred  on 
by  outside  pressure,  relieved  General  McClellan,  appointing  General  Burnside  as 
his  successor.  Burnside  was  defeated  in  his  first  battle  after  assuming  command 
of  the  army,  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  and  the  year  1862  ended  in  gloom. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

LINCOLN'S    EMANCIPATION   PROCLAMATION — BATTLES   OF   YICKSBURG   AND   GETTYS 
BURG — THE   CAMPAIGN   AND    WORK   OF   1863. 

ON  September  22,  1862,  after  much  thought  and  discussion,  Mr.  Lincoln 
issued  his  famous  Emancipation  Proclamation,  declaring  that  unless  the 
states  fighting  against  the  government  laid  down  their  arms  previous  to  Jan 
uary,  1863,  he  should  issue  an  edict  giving  freedom  to  the  slaves.  The  issuing  of 
this  memorable  document  was  another  surprise  to  the  people  of  the  country. 
Lincoln  had  promised  himself  that  if  God  would  give  him  a  Union  victory  he 
would  issue  this  proclamation,  and  whether  in  response  to  this  promise  or  not,  the 
Union  victory  at  Antietam,  Maryland,  in  which  the  rebels  were  defeated  and 
driven  back  across  the  Potomac,  furnished  a  pretext. 

In  November,  1862,  Horatio  Seymour,  an  anti-war  Democrat,  but  a  man  of 
splendid  ability  and  great  personal  influence,  was  elected  governor  of  New  York. 
This  and  similar  occurrences  gave  great  encouragement  to  northern  Democrats 
who  were  opposed  to  the  war.  Clement  L.  Vallandigham,  of  Ohio,  had  shown 
himself,  in  the  national  House  of  Representatives  and  elsewhere,  one  of  the 
bitterest  and  most  outspoken  of  all  the  men  of  this  class.  At  a  political  meeting 
held  at  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio,  he  declared  that  it  was  the  design  of  "those  in 
power  to  establish  a  despotism,1'  and  that  they  had  "no  intention  of  restoring 
the  Union."  He  (bnouncel  the  conscription  which  had  been  ordered,  and 
declared  that  men  who  submitted  to  be  drafted  into  the  army  were  "unworthy 
to  be  called  freemen."  He  spoke  of  the  president  as  "King  Lincoln."  Such 
utterances  at  this  time,  when  the  government  was  exerting  itself  to  the  utmost 
to  recruit  the  armies,  were  dangerous,  and  Vallandigham  was  arrested,  tried  by 
court-martial  at  Cincinnati,  and  sentenced  to  be  placed  in  confinement  during 
the  war.  General  Burnside,  in  command  at  Cincinnati,  approved  the  sentence, 
and  ordered  that  he  be  sent  to  Fort  Warren,  in  Boston  Harbor;  but  the  pres 
ident  ordered  that  he  be  sent  "beyond  our  lines  into  those  of  his  friends."  He 
was  therefore  escorted  to  the  Confederate  lines  in  Tennessee,  thence  going  to 
Richmond.  There  he  did  not  meet  with  a  very  cordial  reception,  and  finally  ran 
the  blockade  to  Nassau  and  went  thence  to  Canada. 

On  January  1,  1863,  occurred  the  greatest  event  of  the  war— the  Jssuing  of 
the  promised  and  long-expected  Emancipation  Proclamation.  This  great  paper, 


194 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


wiitten  ijy  Yoraham  Lincoln's  own  hand,  and  coming  from  his  great  heart,  must 
stand  in  history  as  the  direct  fruit  of,  and  must  rank  in  history  with,  the 
immortal  Declaration  of  Independence.  The  Confederates  had  been  duly 
warned,  in  a  proclamation  issued  in  September,  that  if  they  remained  in  rebellion 
the  slaves  would  be  s:jt  free. 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas,  On  the  22d  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-two,  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
containing,  among  other  things, -the  following,  to-wit : 

"  That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 

and  sixty-three,  all  persons  held  as 
slaves  within  any  state  or  designated 
part  of  a  state,  the  people  whereof 
shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against 
the  United  States,  shall  be  then, 
thenceforward  and  forever  free ;  and 
the  Executive  Government  of  the 
United  States,  including  the  military 
and  naval  authority  thereof,  will  rec 
ognize  and  maintain  the  freedom  of 
such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act  or 
acts  to  repress  such  persons,  or  any  of 
them,  in  any  efforts  they  may  make 
for  their  actual  freedom. 

"That  the  Executive  will,  on  the 
first  day  of  January  aforesaid,  by 
proclamation,  designate  the  states 
and  parts  of  states,  if  any,  in  which 
the  people  thereof,  respectively,  shall 
then  be  in  rebellion  against  the 
United  States  ;  and  the  fact  that  any 
state,  or  the  people  thereof,  shall  on 
that  day  be  in  good  faith  represented 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
by  members  chosen  thereto  at  elec 
tions  wherein  a  majority  of  the 
qualified  voters  of  such  state  shall 
have  participated,  shall,  in  the  ab 
sence  of  strong  countervailing  testimony,  be  deemed  conclusive  evidence  that  such  state, 
and  the  people  thereof,  are  not  then  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States." 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States,  by  virtue  of  the 
power  in  me  vested  as  Commander-iii-ChieJ^of_the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States 
in  time  of  actual  armed  rebellion  against  the  authority  and  government  of  the  United 
States,  and  as  a  fit  and  necessary  war  measure  for  suppressing  said  rebellion,  do,  on  this 
first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three, 
and  in  accordance  with  my  purpose  so  to  do,  publicly  proclaimed  for  the  full  period  of  one 
hundred  days  from  the  day  first  above  mentioned,  order  and  designate,  as  the  states  and 
parts  of  states  wherein  the  people  thereof,  respectively,  are  this  day  in  rebellion  against 
the  United  States,  the  following,  to-wit: 

Arkansas,  Texas,  Louisiana  (except  the  parishes  of  St.  Bernard,  Plaquemines,  Jeffer 
son,  St.  John,  St.  Charles,  St.  James,  Ascension,  Assumption,  Terre  Bonne,  LaFourche, 


WILLIAM   HENRY   SEWARD. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  165 

Ste.  Marie,  St.  Martin,  and  Orleans,  including  the  city  of  New  Orleans),  Mississippi, 
Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  (except  the 
forty-eight  counties  designated  as  West  Virginia,  and  also  the  counties  of  Berkeley, 
Acconiac,  Northampton,  Elizabeth  City,  York,  Princess  Anne  and  Norfolk,  including  the 
cities  of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth,),  and  which  excepted  parts  are,  for  the  present,  left  pre- 
c.«ely  as  if  this  proclamation  were  not  issued. 

And  by  virtue  of  the  power,  and  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  I  do  order  ami  declare  that 
all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  said  designated  states  and  parts  of  staUs  are  and  hence 
forward  shall  be  free,  and  that  the  Executive  Government  of  the  United  States,  includ 
ing  the  military  and  naval  authorities  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom 
of  said  persons.  • 

And  I  hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  declared  to  be  free  to  abstain  from  all  violence, 
unless  in  necessary  self-defense;  and  I  recommend  to  them,  that,  in  all  cases,  when 
allowed,  they  labor  faithfully  for  reasonable  wages. 


l,:ll\ '-  •  ? :;  '•  \  '<.  i  •  : 


GENERAL  GRANT'S  OLD  HOME,  GALENA,  ILLINOIS. 

And  I  further  declare  and  make  known  that  such  persons,  of  suitable  condition,  will 
be  received  into  the  armed  service  of  the  United  States,  to  garrison  forts,  positions,  sta 
tions  and  other  places,  and  to  man  vessels  of  all  sorts  in  said  service. 

And  upon  this  act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of  justice,  warranted  by  the  Consti 
tution,  upon  military  necessity,  I  invoke  the  considerate  judgment  of  mankind  and  the 
gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  name  and  caused  the  seal  of  the  United 
States  to  b"  affixed. 

Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  first  day  of  January,  in    the  year  of  our 
[i,.  s.]        Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  and  of  the  Independence  of 
the  United  States  the  eighty-seventh. 

By  the  President :        ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
WILLIAM  H.  SEWAKD,  Secretary  of  State. 


166 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


This  proclamation  was  received  with  satisfaction  and  great  joy  by  the  loyal 
people  of  the  United  States,  and  President  Lincoln  was  at  once  crowned  as  the 
greatest  of  emancipators. 

There  were  important  military  movements  in  various  portions  of  the  South. 
Efficiency  and  bravery  were  shown  everywhere  by  Union  officers  and  private 
soldiers.  Lincoln  had  loyal  and  most  helpful  allies  in  Congress  and  in  the  field. 
A  large  number  of  Union  generals  had  already  gained  great  victories  and 


PKESIDENT   LINCOLN   AND   GENERAL   McCLELLAN. 

This  is  a  very  interesting  picture,  as  it  gives  an  idea  how  Lincoln  looked  in  a  crowd  ol 
men.  The  picture  is  from  a  Brady  negative,  taken  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  at  Antietam,  on  October  4,  18^2. 

acquired  most  honorable  pbices  in  history.  Among  these  were  Ulysses  S.  Grant. 
William  T.  Sherm  in,  George  H.  Thomas,  Phil.  Sheridan,  and  others.  The 
president  had  made  repeated  calls  for  troops  and  money,  and  Congress  had 
responded  promptly,  so  that  he  had  now  about  half  a  million  men  in  the  field. 
But  there  were  some  discordant  notes,  and  the  condition  of  the  countrv  was 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


167 


such  that  Congress  passed  a  law,  March  3,  1863,  authorizing  the  president  to 
suspend  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  throughout  the  United  States  when,  in  his 
opinion,  public  safety  might  require  it. 

General  Butler  had,  by  occupying  New  Orleans,  clused  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  to  the  rebels,  but  in  order  to  open  the  river  throughout  its  length  to 
the  Union  gunboats  and  vessels,  it  was  necessary  to  capture  Vicksburg.  the  i^reat 
objective  point  of  the  campaign  in  the  West.  Vicksburg  was  to  be  taken  in  the 
West,  and  the  army  of  Lee  was 
to  be  destroyed  in  the  East. 

Grant  arrived  in  the  vicin 
ity  of  Yicksburg  February  2, 
1863,  and  assumed  command. 
The  siege  was  most  remark 
able;  slowly  the  work  pro 
ceeded  of  .  closing  all  the 
approaches  to  the  city.  The 
operations  of  the  land  and 
naval  forces  were  very  elab 
orate:  canals  were  cut,  for 
tifications  erected.  Admiral 
Porter  co-operated  with  Gen 
eral  Grant. 

The  capture  of  Port  Gib 
son,  on  the  Mississippi,  below 
Vicksburg,  by  Union  troops 
gave  encouragement  to  Grant; 
and  Johnston's  army  moved 
with  the  purpose  of  relieving 
Vicksbnr^  and  to  take  Pem- 
berton,  wh >>  was  in  command 
of  the  rebel  forces  in  that 
city,  out  of  the  cage  in  which 
he  found  himself;  but  John 
ston  was  defeated,  and  several 
victories  won,  in  quick  suc 
cession,  by  the  Union  troops, 
and  Pemberton  and  his  men  were  finally  driven  into  their  works  and  the  city 
completely  invested. 

Grant  now  decided  to  take  the  city  by  assault,  and  on  May  22d,  the  attack 
was  made  with  great  vigor,  but  without  success.  There  was  great  suffering  on 
the  part  of  the  besieged  troops,  and  citizens  were  reduced  to  great  extremities,  and, 
finally,  on  July  3d,  Pemberton  sent  a  letter  to  Grant  proposing  an  nrmistice  and 
commissioners  to  arrange  terms  of  capitulation.  The  result  of  this  was  that  the 
city  and  garrison  of  Vicksburg  was  surrendered  on  July  4,  1863. 


SIMON  CAMERON,   OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Secretary  of  Avar  under  Lincoln,  from  Mjin-h  4,  I860, 
to  January  11,  1862. 


168  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

In  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  and  preceding  battles,  the  general  loss  to  the  rebels 
was  37,000  taken  prisoners,  including  fifteen  general  officers,  10,000  killed  and 
woundsJ,  and  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition.  Thus  the  Mississippi  was  free  1o 
the  Union  forces,  and  to  trade  throughout  its  entire  length. 

The  Confederates,  in  June,  1863,  formed  another  purpose  to  beard  the  loyal 
lion  in  his  very  den.  On  the  twenty-eighth,  Lee  invaded  Pennsylvania  with  a  very 
Lirge  force,  occupied  Chambersburg  promptly,  and  advanced  on  Gettysburg. 

On  the  twenty-seventh,  General  Meade  had  succeeded  General  Hooker  in  com 
mand  of:  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  General  Reynolds,  of  the  Union  forces,, 
came  unexpectedly  upon  the  enemy  at  Gettysburg,  and  was  at  first  driven  back. 
On  the  morning  of  July  1,  1863,  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  began,  and  during 
the  forenoon  of  July  4th,  after  one  of  the  most  terrible  series  of  battles  recorded 
in  history,  it  was  evident  th  it  Lee  was  preparing  to  retreat.  The  Confederates, 
had  made  a  tremendous  effoit  to  capture  Cemetery  Hill,  the  key  to  the  Union 
position.  Piekett's  charge  on  this  occasion  is  known  as  one  of  the  severest  and 
most  heroic  demonstrations  ever  m  ide  by  the  Confederates,  but  after  repeated 
attempts,  and  after  pressing  up  to  the  very  muzzles  of  the  artillery,  the  lebels 
were  met  with  such  storms  of  grape  and  canister  that  the  survivors  threw  down 
their  arms  and  surrendered,  rather  than  run  the  gauntlet  of  retreat.  Three- 
thousand  prisoners  were  taken. 

On  July  4.1863,  General  Meade,  in  a  dispatch  dated  at  8:30  P.  M.,  to  the  secre 
tary  of  war,  said,  "The  enemy  opened  at  1:00  p.  M,  from  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  guns.  They  concentrated  upon  my  left  center,  continuing  without  inter 
mission  for  about  three  hours,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  they  assaulted  my 
left  center  twice,  being  upon  both  occasions  handsomely  repulsed,  with  severe 
loss  to  them,  leaving  in  our  hands  nearly  three  thousand  prisoners." 

The.  effect  of  these  two  jrreat  victories,  the  capture  of  Vick>burg  and  the 
repulse  of  the  rebel  forces  at  Gettysburg,  was  tremendous.  The  president  and 
all  loyal  people  were  greatly  encouraged  and  strengthened.  It  was  evident  to 
men  of  observation  and  foresight  that  the  tide  of  events  had  turned,  and  that 
the  crushing  down  and  out  of  the  Confederacy  was  only  a  matter  of  time. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

LINCOLN'S  THANKSGIVING  MESSAGE — HIS  GETTYSBURG  ADDRESS. 

THE  rejoicing  and  gratitude  of  the  friends  of  the  Union  found  expression  in  a 
proclamation  issued  by  their  beloved  president  July  15,  1863:  "  It  has  pleased 
Almighty  God  to  hearken  to  the  supplications  and  prayers  of  an  afflicted  people, 
and  to  vouchsafe  to  the  army  and  the  navy  of  the  United  States  victories  on  the 
hind  and  on  the  sea  so  signal  and  so  effective  as  to  furnish  reasonable  ground 
•for  augmented  confidence  that  the  union  of  these  states  will  be  maintained, 
their  constitution  preserved,  and  their  peace  and  prosperity  permanently  restored. 
But  these  victories  have  been  accorded  not  without  sacrifice  of  life,  limb,  health 
and  liberty  incurred  by  brave,  loyal  and  patriotic  citizens.  Domestic  affliction 
in  every  part  of  the  country  follows  in  the  train  of  ibeee  fearful  bereavements. 
It  is  meet  and  right  to  recognize  and  confess  the  presence  of  the  Almighty 
Father,  and  the  power  of  his  hand,  equally  in  these  triumphs  and  these  sorrows." 

The  president  then  invited  the  people  to  assemble  August  4th  for  thanks 
giving,  praise  and  prayer,  and  to  render  homage  to  the  Divine  Majesty v  for  the 
wonderful  things  he  had  done  in  the  nation's  behalf;  and  he  called  upon 
the  people  to  invoke  his  Holy  Spirit  to  subdue  the  anger  which  had  been  pro 
duced  and  so  long  sustained  a  needless  and  cruel  rebellion;  4o  change  the  hearts 
of  the  insurgents;  to  guide  the  councils  of  the  government  with  wisdom,  and  to 
visit  with  tender  care  and  consolation  those  who  through  the  vicissitudes  of 
battles  and  sieges  had  been  brought  to  suffer  in  mihd,  body  or  estate,  and  finally 
to  lead  the  whole  nation  through  the  paths  of  repentance  and  submission  to  the 
Divine  will,  to  unity  and  fraternal  peace.  That  the  people  responded  to  this 
invitation  heartily  does  not  need  to  be  said. 

On  November  19th,  the  battle-field  at  Gettysburg,  which  had  been  set  apart 
as  a  national  cemetery,  was  consecrated  to  its  pious  purpose  by  impressive  cer 
emonies.  The  president  and  his  Cabinet,  governors  and  officials  of  several 
states,  and  large  masses  of  people  assembled  on  this  occasion.  Edward  Everett, 
late  secretary  of  state,  and  senator  from  Massachusetts,  one  of  the  greatest 
public  speakers  of  the  day,  with  an  international  reputation,  was  the  orator  of 
the  occasion.  President  Lincoln,  however,  while  in  the  cars  on  his  way  from 
the  White  House,  was  notified  that  he  would  be  expected  to  make  "some  remarks 
also.11  He  made  a  few  notes  while  in  thp  car,  and  when  the  time  came  for  him 


169 


THE  HOUSE  PRESENTED  TO  GENERAL  GRANT   BY  THE  CITIZENS  OF  GALENA,   ILLINOIS. 


OX-YOKE    MADE   BY   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN,    NOW   OWNED   BY   THE   UNIVERSITY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

170 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


171 


sp<  .A,  .>c  .slivered  the  now  famous  Get t\^burg.  address,  the  finest,  strongest 
and  one  of  thtf  briefest  orations  ever  made  on  this  continent.  From  a  literary 
point  of  view,  this  speech  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  an  American  classic.  Mr. 
Everett  was  a  good  and  great  man;  his  memory  will  be  affectionately  clitrished; 
but  his  splendid  sentences  have  already  been  forgotten,  while  Lincoln's  few 
impressive  words  have  already  an  imperishable  place  in  the  history  and  literature 
of  the  world.  Here  is  the  address: 

'•  Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth  on  this  con- 
tin  3ii h  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that 
all  men  are  created  equal. 

"Now  we  are  engaged  in 
a  great  civil  war,  testing 
whether  that  nation,  or  any 
nation  so  conceived  and  so 
dedicated,  can  long  endure. 
We  are  met  on  a  great  battle 
field  of  that  war.  We  have 
come  to  dedicate  a  portion 
of  that  field  as  the  final 
resting-place  for  those  who 
here  gave  their  lives  that 
that  nation  might  live.  It 
is  altogether  fitting  and 
proper  that  we  should  do  this. 

''  But,  in  a  larger  sense, 
we  cannot  dedicate — we  can 
not  consecrate — we  cannot 
hallow— -this  ground.  The 
brave  men,  living  and  dead, 
who  struggled  here  have  -con 
secrated  it,  far  above  our 
poor  power  to  add  or  de 
tract.  The  world  will  little 

note,  nor  long  remember,  what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did 
here.  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished  work 
which  they  who  fought  here  have  thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  for  us. 
rather,  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us,  that  from 
these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave 
the  last  full  measure  of  devotion,  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain;  that  this  nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth 
of  freedom;  and  that  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people, 
shall  not  perish  from  the  earth.1' 

On  September  19th  and  20th,  the  famous  battle  of  Chickamauga  was  fought, 
in  which  General  Thomas,  commanding  the  center  of  Rosecran's  army,  firmly 


GENERAL -ULYSSES  S.   GRANT. 


172 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


withstood  and  beat  b;ick  the  rebels  under  Bragg.     General   Gaificld  especially 
distinguished  himself  in  this  battle. 

General  Grant  arrived  at  Louisville  October  19th,  and  assumed  the  command 
of  -the  military  division  of  the  Mississippi.     Rosecrans  was  then  relieved,   and 


LINCOLN  AND  TAD. 

An  interesting  story  is  related  of  this  picture.  While  in  the  White  House,  Mr.  Lincoln 
made  many  sittings  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Brady,  the  historical  photographer  of  Washington. 
Upon  one  occasion  the  president  was  accompanied  by  his  favorite  son,  "Tad."  Mr.  Brady  made 
an  exposure,  and  went  into  the  dark-room  to  change  the  plate.  During  the  delay,  Mr.  Lincoln 
picked  up  an  album  of  Brady's  celebrated  pictures  and  was  showing  them  to  Tad.  When  Mr. 
Brady  came  back,  his  artistic  eye  was  impressed  by  the  pose,  and  he  induced  them  to  remain 
just  as  they  were  while  he  took  the  picture.  The  above  WHS  told  by  Hon.  Robert  Lincoln, 
of  Chicago,  in  January,  1896. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


173 


Thomas  became  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  Thomas  retired  to 
Ch  ittanooga,  after  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  where  Grant  joined  him  October 
22  I,  and  they  determined  to  storm  and  carry  the  heights  of  Lookout  mountain 
and  Missionary  ridge.  On  November  24th.  Sherman's  men  gained  possession  of 
the  north  end  of  the  last-named  height.  Thomas  attacked  the  center  and  drove 
the  enemy  back  to  the  hills.  Hooker  pushed  around  Lookout  mountain,  and 
drove  the  enemy  up  its  western  slope,  capturing  their  rifle-pits. 

The  men  recognized  at  once  their  great  opportunity,  and  pressed  the  rebels 
with  impetuous  ardor  until 
they  reached  the  very  summit, 
above  the  clouds  and  smoke, 
and  spectators  in  the  valley 
could  get  occasional  glimpses 
of  their  battle-flags,  waving 
in  triumph.  The  next  day 
Bragg  was  in  full  retreat.  On 
the  twenty-fifth  the  scene  of 
Lookout  mountain  was  re 
peated  on  the  summit  of 
Missionary  ridge.  -Bragg 
withdrew  then  to  Ringgold, 
Georgia. 

Meanwhile  the  Confeder 
ate  siege  of  Knoxville,  in  East 
Tennessee,  was  in  progress, 
with  Burnside  in  command 
of  the  Union  forces.  General 
Sherman  finally  marched  to 
his  relief;  Longstreet  raised 
the  siege  and  marched  into 
Virginia. 

On  September  6th,  the 
forts  in  Charleston  harbor 
were  taken  by  the  Union 
forces,  and  the  city  was  now 
at  their  mercy.  The  situation 
had  greatly  changed  since  the 

rebels  had  fired  their  first  shot  at  Sumter,  in  1861.  During  the  spring  and  sum 
mer  of  1863  there  was  much  fighting,  as  nsinl.  in  Virginia.  Lee  and  Jackson 
m:ule  a  furious  attack  on  General  Hooker,  May  2d,  at  Chancellorsville,  and  Jackson 
was  mortally  wounded  by  a  shot  from  his  own  miiks. 

On  March  3,  1863,  it  was  found  necessary  by  Congress  to  pass  a  conscription 
law,  and  two  months  afterward  the  president  ordered  a  general  draft  for  300/100 
men.  All  able-bodied  men  over  twenty  and  under  .forty-five  were  liable-  to 


ANDREW  JOHNSON. 

Vice-president  with  Lincoln  in. the  campaign  of  18M, 
and  successor  in  office.    He  was  born  in  1808,  and  died  1875. 


174 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


conscription.  The  anti-war  people  were  very  bitter,  and  did  what  they  could  do 
safely  in  the  line  of  resisting  the  officers  who  had  the  management  of  the 
conscription.  In  some  instances  their  indignation  broke  out  in  mob  violence. 
An  armed  mob  of  large  proportions  burned  a  New  York  asylum  for  colored 
orphans,  July  13th,  attacked  the  police,  and  killed  about  a  hundred  people.  An 
unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  to  wreck  the  New  York  Tribune  building. 
Governor  Seymour  made  a  mild  speech,  promising  that  the  draft  should  be 
suspended,  and  advising  the  rioters  to  disperse.  His  promise  was  unauthorized 
and  void  of  force,  and  Union  troops  came  into  the  city,  and  soon  put  down  the 
insurrection  with  a  strong  hand.  But  resistance  to  the  draft  broke  out  so 
violently  elsewhere  that  August  19th,  President  Lincoln,  in  a  proclamation, 
suspended  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  throughout  the  Union.  Only 
about  50,000  men  were  drafted,  but  volunteering  was  greatly  stimulated,  and  in 
October  the  president  issued  another  call  for  300,000  men.  On  June  20th,  in  this 
year,  West  Virginia  became  a  state  and  was  admitted  to  the  Union. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

LINCOLN'S   SECOND   ELECTION — CONSCRIPTION   IN   THE   NORTH — MILITARY 

OPERATIONS   OF   1864. 

THE  Emancipation  Proclamation  was  issued  by  Mr.  Lincoln  in  the  sincere 
belief  that  "it  was  an  act  of  justice  warranted  by  the  Constitution,  and  upon 
military  necessity."  In  its  publication,  he  had  invoked  u  the  considerate  judgment 
of  mankind  and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God.'1  Slavery  had  been 
abolished  at  the  Capitol,  prohibited  in  the  territories,  and  all  negro  soldiers  in  the 
Union  army  had  been  declared  free.  The  fugitive-slave  laws  had  been  repealed, 
as  had  all  laws  which  recognized  or  sanctioned  slavery.  The  states  not  embraced 
in  the  proclamation  had  emancipated  their  slaves,  so  that  slavery  now  existed  only 
in  the  rebel  states. 

After  all  that  had  been  done  by  Congress,  by  war  and  by  the  president,  one 
thing  alone  remained  to  complete  and  make  permanently  effective  these  great  anti- 
slavery  measures.  This  was  to  introduce  into  the  Constitution  itself  a  provision 
to  abolish  slavery  in  the  United  States,  and  to  prohibit  its  existence  in  any  part 
thereof  forever. 

Senator  Lyman  Trumbull,  February  10,  1864,  reported  from  the  judiciary 
committee  the  proposed  amendment,  in  these  words: 

"Article  XIII. ,  Section  1. — Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except 
as  a  punishment  for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall 
exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

"  Section  2. — Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropriate 
legislation." 

The  resolution  passed  the  Senate  April  8th.  The  debate  on  the  subject  in  the 
House  began  on  January  6,  1865,  and  James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio,  afterward 
president,  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  discussion.  On  January  13th,  the  measure 
was  passed  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  nineteen  ayes  and  fifty-six  nays. 
When  the  speaker  made  the  formal  announcement,  "The  constitutional  majority 
of  two  thirds  having  voted  in  the  affirmative,  the  joint  resolution  is  passed," 
it  was  received  with  great  demonstrations  of  applause.  It  was  an  important 
fact  that  quite  a  number  of  Democrats  voted  for  the  measure. 

The  amendment  to  the  Constitution  was  put  to  a  vote  of  the  states  and  was 
adopted. 

175 


176 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


There  had  been  much  opposition  to  the  renomination  of  Lincoln  for  the 
presidency  by  prominent  Republicans,  some  of  them  being  aspirants  for  the 
honor.  The  Republican  convention  met  at  Baltimore,  June  8,  1864.  Rev. 
Robert  J.  Breckinridge,  uncle  of  the  rebel  leader,  John  C.  Breckinridge,  was 
elected  as  temporary  chairman,  and,  in  a  bold  and  fervid  speech,  commenced  the 
business  of  the  convention.  He  delared  slavery  to  be  "  contrary  to  the  spirit  of 
Christian  religion,  and  incompatible  with  the  natural  rights  of  man.1'  Ex-Gov 
ernor  William  Dennison,  of  Ohio,  the  first  of  the  famous  war  governors,  was 


THE    FEDERALS   BOMBARDING   FORT   SUMTER. 


made  president.  Singularly  enough,  in  view  of  the  opposition  that  had  been 
manifested  previous  to  the  convention,  Lincoln  was  unanimously  renominated 
for  the  presidency,  and  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  was  nominated  for  the 
vice-presidency. 

The  Democratic  convention  met  at  Chicago,  August  29th,  and  nominated 
George  B.  McClellan  for  president,  and  George  H.  Pendleton,  of  Ohio,  for 
vice-president.  Vallandigham.  having  returned  to  Ohio  from  the  rebel  lines, 
attended  this  convention  as  a  delegate,  and  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


resolution.  The  second  resolution  declared  that  u after  four  years  of  trying  to 
restore  the  Union  by  war,  immediate  efforts  should  be  made  for  the  cessation  of 
hostilities."  The  war  for  the  maintenance  ot  the  Union  w;is  formally  declared 
to  be  ua  failure.1'  To  the  credit  of  the  candidate,  General  McClellan,  he  was  not 
fully  in  accord  with  the  platform  upon  which  he  had  been  placed. 

The  campaign  was  fought  on  this  issue.  The  questions  to  be  settled  were: 
Should  the  war  be  prosecuted  by  the  government  to  a  successful  conclusion,  or 
should  there  be  a  cessation  of  hostilities  and  a  compromise  effected?  The 
campaign  was  one  of  great  interest  and  excitement.  The  friends  of  Mr.  Lincoln 
had  almost  every  advantage.  The 
rebels  were  losing  ground  at 
nearly  every  point.  The  repeated 
assertions  of  the  Democracy  that 
the  Union  could  not  be  restored 
by  force  of  arms  in  the  existing 
state  of  things  had  become  ridic 
ulous,  and  Lincoln  was  re-elected 
almost  by  acclamation,  receiving 
every  electoral  vote  except  those 
of  New  Jersey,  Delaware  and 
Kentucky. 

As  soon  as  the  result  was 
known,  General  Grant  tel 
egraphed  from  City  Point  his 
congratulations,  and  added  that 
"the  election  having  passed  off 
quietly  ...  is  a  victory  worth 
more  to  the  country  than  a  battle 
won.1'  At  a  late  hour  on  the 
evening  of  the  election,  Mr.  Lin 
coln,  in  response  to  a  serenade, 
said:  UI  am  thankful  to  God  for 
this  approval  of  the  people.  But 
while  deeply  grateful  for  this 
mark  of  their  confidence  in  me, 

if  I  know  my  own  heart,  my  gratitude  is  free  from  any  taint  of  personal  triumph. 
It  is  not  in  my  nature  to  triumph  over  any  one,  but  I  give  thanks  to  Almighty 
God  for  this  evidence  of  the  people's  resolution  to  stand  by  free  government  and 
the  rights  of  humanity.11  But  it  was  a  tremendous  personal  triumph  for  which 
any  man  might  be  properly  grateful;  it  was  a  vindication  by  the  people  of  the 
sterling  worth  and  unfaltering  courage  of  the  president. 

Lincoln  was  reinaugurated  March  4,  ISfio,  and  in  a  clear  but  sometimes  sad 
dened  voice,  he  pronounced  his  second  but  last  inaugural,  a  most  impressive 
address,  the  closing  paragraph  of  which  is  a^  follows: 


GEORGE   B.    McCLELLAN. 


178 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


"With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness  in  the  right 
as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  finish  the  work  we  are  in,  to  bind  up  the 
nation's  wounds,  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle,  and  for  his 
widow  and  his  orphans,  to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and 
lasting  peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations." 

Mr.  Lincoln,  as  the  champion  of  the  Union  cause,  had  among  his  most  zealous 
friends  the  loyal  women  of  the  North.  Many  books  might  be  written  about 
whab  these  women  did  for  the  good  of  the  soldiers  in  the  field  and  in  hospitals 
and  for  the  Union  cause.  They  contributed  largely  to  the  public  opinion  of  the 

North.  They  organized  them 
selves  into  aid  societies,  and 
gathered  and  prepared  supplies 
for  the  hospitals  and  such  articles 
of  food  as  were  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  sick  and  wounded  sol 
diers.  In  many  cities  of  the 
North  there  were  headquarters 
where  food  supplies  were  prepared 
by  women,  and  old  men  unfit 
for  military  duty,  and  forwarded 
to  Union  camps.  The  aggregate 
amount  of  good  accomplished  by 
these  women  can  never  be  known. 
No  doubt  thousands  of  lives 
were  saved  through  their  humane 
and  Christian  efforts. 

The  sanitary  commission  of 
1865  was  one  of  the  most  won 
derful  and  effective  organizations 
of  the  time. 

The  loyal  press  of  the  country 
was  also  of  immense  and  incalcul 
able  help  to  the  president.  There 
were  sharp  newspaper  criticisms 
of  the  administration,  but  they 

were  from  men  who  were  patriots  and  loyal  to  the  Constitution  and  the  Union. 
u  On  to  Richmond,'1  and  UA  more  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war,"  were  phrases 
that  were  iterated  and  reiterated  day  after  day.  The  editors  at  the  desk  co-operated 
with  the  commanders  and  the  common  soldiers  in  the  field.  In  many  communi 
ties  there  were  disloyal  utterances,  and  in  Indiana  especially  the  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Circle  proved  to  be  conspirators  against  the  Union  and  the  flag.  Under 
these  circumstances  the  Union  men  at  home — especially  those  in  charge  of 
newspapers — had  a  most  difficult  task,  and  accomplished  a  most  noble  work  in 
fighting  disunionists  at  home  and  in  firing  and  encouraging  loyal  hearts. 


BENJAMIN   F.   BUTLER. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  179 

The  first  military  movements  of  1864  began,  as  in  1863,  in  the  West. 
William  Tecumseh  Sherman  loomed  up  as  a  conspicuous  military  figure,  and 
during  the  year  proved  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  generals  of  the  time.  In 
February,  General  Sherman  left  Vicksburg  and  advanced  into  Alabama;  but 
meeting  with  a  repulse,  he  returned  to  Vicksburg.  General  Banks  commanded 
a  successful  expedition  in  the  Red  river  country.  The  rebel  General  Forest 
captured  Fort  Pillow,  on  the  Mississippi,  and  massacred  a  large  number  of  negro 
soldiers.  On  May  7th,  Sherman  had  one  hundred  thousand  men  in  his  command 
at  Chattanooga,  and  began  a  series  of  movements  which  ended  in  his  great  march 
to  the  sea,  and  in  the  cutting  of  the  very  heart  of  the  Confederacy  in  two.  He 
burned  Atlanta,  November  14th,  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  was  surrendered  to 
him  February  17th  following,  arid  soon  thereafter  Charleston  itself  was  aban 
doned  by  the  Confederates. 

Kilpatrick,  in  a  fight  with  Hampton,  showed  a  conspicuous  bravery  and 
persistence,  which  gave  him  a  brilliant  victory.  In  August,  Commodore 
Farragut  sealed  up  the  harbor  of  Mobile.  Johnston  was  in  the  field,  and  there 
was  vigorous  fighting,  with  varied  results,  but  the  trend  of  events  was  in  the 
line  of  Union  success. 

President  Lincoln's  unfaltering  courage  in  the  darkest  hours  of  the  nation's 
peril  was  alone  sufficient  to  stamp  him  as  one  of  the  greatest  of  rulers. 
Anxious  and  care-worn  he  was,  his  heart  bleeding  for  the  losses  in  the  ranks  of 
the  brave  boys  in  blue,  and  he  was  harassed  constantly  by  the  duties  and  heavy 
cares  requiring  attention,  yet  his  purpose  never  wavered  an  instant.  He  never 
hesitated  in  his  course,  never  permitted  a  doubt  as  to  the  final  supremacy  of 
the  government.  Doubtless  he  feared  at  times,  and  all  the  country  knew  he 
suffered  greatly,  but  no  gloomy  forebodings  or  weak  repinings  once  escaped  him. 
In  his  dark  hours  his  unfailing  resources  as  a  story-teller  afforded  intense  relief  to 
his  overstrained  faculties.  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  then  a  member  of  Congress, 
relates  that  he  called  on  the  president  one  morning,  and  was  amazed  to  find  him 
reading  and  smiling  (sometimes  audibly)  over  Artemus  Ward.  He  asked  Mr. 
Arnold  to  sit  down  while  he  read  to  him  Artemus1  description  of  a  visit  to  the 
Shakers.  It  was  a  time  of  grave  peril  to  the  most  important  of  the  Union 
armies.  Mr.  Arnold  was  shocked,  and  said:  uMr.  President,  is  it  possible  that 
while  the  whole  land  is  bowed  in  sorrow,  and  covered  with  a  pall  in  the  presence 
of  yesterday's  fearful  reverse,  you,  the  head  of  the  nation,  can  indulge  in  such 
levity?"  Mr.  Lincoln  threw  down  the  book  instantly,  and  with  tears  streaming 
down  his  cheeks,  and  his  huge  frame  quivering  with  emotion,  answered:  aMr. 
Arnold,  if  I  could  not  get  momentary  respite  from  the  crushing  burden  I  am 
constantly  carrying,  my  heart  would  break!"  On  another  occasion  he  told  Hon. 
J.  M.  Ashley,  member  of  Congress  from  the  Toledo,  Ohio,  district,  who  came  to 
Mm  under  similar  circumstances,  "I  say  to  you  now  that  if  it  were  not  for  this 
occasional  vent,  I  would  die." 

Wholly  unlike  Mr.  Davis  in  his  habits  of  thought,  President  Lincoln  was 
never  meddlesome  or  dictatorial  with  his  generals  in  the  field,  and  yet  possessed 


180  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

military  sagacity  of  the  highest  order.  A  distinguished  authority  on  the  art  of 
war  has  said  that  military  science  is  simply  common  sense  applied  to  the  affairs 
of  war.  Lincoln's  shrewd  common  sense  enabled  him  to  grasp  the  main  points 
in  any  proposed  campaign,  and  at  more  than  one  important  juncture  not  only  to 
approve  or  disapprove,  but  to  direct  and  even  plan.  The  necessity  that  he  felt 
himself  under,  to  familiarize  himself  with  the  practical  operations  of  the  troops 
in  the  field,  greatly  increased  his  load  of  intense  worry  and  perplexity,  yet  he 
bore  the  burden  with  calmness  and  never-failing  patience. 

Admiral  Dahlgren  was  sent  for  one  morning  by  the  president,  who  said: 
"  Well,  captain,  here's  a  letter  about  some  new  powder."  After  reading  the 
letter  to  the  captain,  he  showed  the  sample  of  powder,  and  remarked  that  he  had 
burned  some  of  it,  and  did  not  believe  it  was  a  good  article — there  was  too  much 
residuum.  "I  will  show  you,"  he  said;  and  getting  a  small  piece  of  paper,  placed 
thereupon  some  of  the  powder,  then  went  to  the  fire  and  with  the  tongs  picked  up 
a  coal,  which  he  blew,  clapped  it  on  the  powder,  and  after  the  resulting  explosion, 
added,  u  You  see  there  is  too  much  left  there."  So  great  was  his  anxiety  for  the 
success  of  the  Union  army  and  navy  that  he  considered  no  possible  pains  too 
great  to  become  personally  satisfied  with  the  grade  of  the  powder. 

Most  characteristic  was  Mr.  Lincoln's  manner  of  speaking  of  himself  as 
president,  and  of  making  reference,  when  obliged  to  do  so,  to  the  office  which 
he  held.  Instead  of  saying  "since  I  became  president,"  he  always  used  some 
such  roundabout  phrase  as  u  since  I  came  into  this  place."  The  war  he  generally 
spoke  of  as  "this  great  trouble."  Most  characteristic  likewise,  and  as  wise  as 
characteristic,  was  his  unconquerable  reluctance  to  pose  as  a  leader  of  public 
opinion.  He  often  spoke  of  himself  as  the  "attorney  for  the  people."  Once, 
however,  when  a  senator  was  urging  on  him  a  certain  course  which  the  president 
was  not  disposed  to  pursue,  the  senator  said:  "You  say  you  are  the  people's 
attorney.  Now,  you  will  admit  that  this  course  would  be  most  popular." 
"  But,"  replied  the  president,  quickly,  "I  am  not  going  to  let  my  client  manage 
the  case  against  my  judgment.  As  long  as  I  am  attorney  for  the  people  I  shall 
manage  the  case  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  They  will  have  a  chance  to  put  me 
out,  by  and  by,  if  my  management  is  not  satisfactory." 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

GRANT   IN   COMMAND — u  ON   TO   RICHMOND!1' 

PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  placed  Ulysses  S.  Grant  in  command  of  all  the 
i  armies  of  the  United  States,  March  2,  1864.  The  rank  of  lieutenant- 
general  was  revived  by  act  of  Congress,  and  conferred  upon  him.  Seven  hundred 
thousand  Union  soldiers  were  ready  to  move  at  his  command.  This  greatest  of 
generals  had  a  plan  for  putting  down  the  rebellion,  and  he  proceeded  to  carry 
it  out  by  striking  and  defeating  the  Confederates  at  all  points;  by  pounding  away 
at  them  day  after  day,  and  week  after  week,  and  month  after  month,  until  they 
were  forced'  to  surrender.  General  Sherman's  movements,  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  were  at  his  suggestion,  and  under  his  direction.  Grant  was  in  Virginia, 
at  a  point  on  the  James  river,  laying  his  plans  to  capture  Richmond.  After 
varying  fortunes,  Butler  arrived  at  Bermuda  Hundred,  where  Grant  joined  him. 
On  June  17th  and  18th,  an  ineffectual  attempt  was  made  to  take  Petersburg. 
Sigel,  Hunter  and  Averill  were  operating  in  the  Shenandoah  valley.  Early 
crossed  the  Potomac,  but  was  driven  back  by  General  Lew  Wallace.  Afterward, 
however,  Early  again  crossed  the  Potomac,  invading  Pennsylvania,  burning 
Chambersburg,  and  returning  to  the  valley  laden  with  spoil. 

An  event  of  great  military  importance  was  the  placing  of  General  Philip  H. 
Sheridan  in  command  of  the  consolidated  Union  army  on  the  Upper  Potomac. 
Sheridan  was  the  great  cavalry  officer  of  the  Union  army,  fearless,  daringr 
aggressive,  and  commanding  victory  by  his  great  genius  as  well  as  by  his  tre 
mendous  courage  and  dash.  He  had  40.000  men  at  his  disposal,  and  he  used 
them  with  great  effect.  On  October  19,  1864,  Early  surprised  the  Union  camp 
near  Winchester,  and  pursued  the  Union  forces  as  far  as  Middletown.  Sheridanr 
at  Winchester,  heard  the  sound  of  battle,  and  rode  at  breakneck  speed  a  distance 
of  twenty  miles,  met  the  flying  Federal  troops,  rallied  them  with  a  word,  turned 
upon  the  rebels,  and  gained  one  of  the  most  glorious  victories  of  the  war.  At 
the  request  of  the  great  tragedian  James  E.  Murdoch,  who  had  interested  and 
inspired  the  Union  troops  in  many  a  camp  by  his  patriotic  recitations,  Thomas 
Buchanan  Read,  poet  and  artist,  commemorated  this  event  in  a  stirring  poem, 
entitled  "  Sheridan's  Ride."  There  were  many  men,  unknown  at  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war,  who  gained  honor  and  fame  in  the  Virginia  campaigns.  To 
name  them  all  would  take  up  many  a  page  of  this  book.  Among  them  was 

181 


182 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Joseph  Warren  Keifer,  of  Springfield,  Ohio,  afterward  speaker  of  the  national 
House  of  Representatives.  He  never  lost  a  battle  or  made  a  military  mistake. 
Then  there  were  General  Garfield,  General  J.  D.  Cox,  and  really  a  host  of  others, 
whose  names  are  luminous  and  are  dear  to  the  hearts  of  all  patriots. 

During   the   summer   of   1864,   efforts   to   bring   about   peace   were  renewed. 
Horace    Greeley,   editor   of    the   New  York   Tribune,  and    the  most  influential 


PRESIDENT   LINCOLN,  ALLEN    PINKERTON   AND   GENERAL   McCLERNAND. 

The  central  figure  of  this  picture  is  the  president;  the  one  on  the  right,  in  uniform,  is  Gen 
eral  McClernand,  and  the  gentleman  at  the  left  is  Allen  Pinkerton,  the  distinguished  detective. 
This  photograph  was  taken  at  Antietam,  on  October  3,  1803,  \\  hen  President  Lincoln  visited  the 
army  in  the  tield.  It  is  from  a  negative  taken  by  Brady  and  Gardner,  for  the  government. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


183 


journalist  of  his  time,  wrote  the  president  as  follows:  "I  venture  to  remind  you 
that  our  bleeding,  bankrupt,  almost  dying  country  longs  for  peace,  shudders  at 
the  prospect  of  fresh  conscriptions,  of  further  wholesale  devastations,  and  of 
new  rivers  of  human  blood,"  etc. 

Mr.  Greeley  asked  the  president  to  consent  to  negotiations  looking  toward  the 
ending  of  the  war.  In  response,  the  president  announced  his  willingness  to 
negotiate  with  commissions  authorized  by  Jefferson  Davis  to  negotiate.  July 
20,  1864,  Greeley  crossed  into  Canada  to  confer  with  refugee  rebels  at  Niagara. 
He  bore  with  him  this  paper  from  the  president:  k*To  whom  it  may  concern: 
Any  proposition  which  embraces 
the  restoration  of  peace,  the  in 
tegrity  of  the  whole  Union,  and 
the  abandonment  of  slavery,  and 
which  comes  by  and  with  an 
authority  that  can  control  the 
armies  now  at  war  with  the  United 
States,  will  be  received  and  con 
sidered  by  the  executive  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  and 
will  be  met  by  liberal  terms  and 
other  substantial  and  collateral 
points,  and  the  bearer  or  bearers 
thereof  shall  have  safe  conduct 
both  ways." 

To  this  Jefferson  Davis  re 
plied,  "We  are  not  fighting  for 
slavery:  -we  are  fighting  for  inde 
pendence.'1'1 

Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Seward 
met  Alexander  H.  Stephens  Feb 
ruary  3, 1865,  on  the  River  Queen, 
at  Fortress  Monroe.  Stephens 
was  enveloped  in  overcoats  and 
shawls,  and  had  the  appearance  EBWIS  at.  STAXTON. 

of    a  fair-sized  man.     He  began 

to  take  off  one  wrapping  after  another,  until  the  small,  shriveled  old  man  stood 
before  them.  Lincoln  quietly  raid  to  Seward,  "This  is  the  largest  shucking  for 
so  small  a  nubbin  that  I  ever  saw."  R.  M.  T.  Hunter  was  with  Mr.  Stephens. 

Lincoln  had  a  friendly  conference,  but  presented  his  ultimatum— that  the  one 
and  only  condition  of  peace  was  that  Confederates  "must  cease  their  resistance/' 

In  the  fall  of  1864  and  the  winter  of  1865,  Grant  was  pressing  in  upon  and 
around  the  center  of  the  Confederacy,  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  and  pounding 
away  with  ponderous  blows.  A  mine  was  exploded  under  one  of  the  Petersburg 
forts,  July  30th,  but  with  little  influence  in  favor  of  the  Federals. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

FALL    OF    RICHMOND    AND    SURRENDER    OF    LEE. 

GRANT  gained  a  substantial  victory  at  Five  Forks,  April  1,  1865.  capturing 
6,000  men.  This  was  one  of  a  series  of  conflicts.  On  the  second  he  made  a 
general  assault  upon  and  captured  Petersburg,  and  on  the  night  of  that  day  Lee 
and  his  army,  and  the  members  of  the  Confederate  government,  evacuated 
Petersburg.  The  rebel  soldiers  set  the  warehouses  of  their  old  capital  on  fireT 
and  large  portions  of  the  city  were  consumed. 

Grant  took  possession  of  Richmond  April  3d.  Lincoln  immediately  went  to 
the  front,  going  up  in  a  man-of-war  to  the  landing  called  Rocketts,  about  a 
mile  below  the  city,  accompanied  by  his  young  son,  "Tad,"  and  Admiral  Porter, 
and  went  to  the  city  in  a  boat.  The  sailors  who  accompanied  him,  armed  with 
carbines,  composed  his  only  military  guard.  He  walked  up  the  streets  toward 
General  Weitzel's  headquarters,  in  the  house  occupied  but  two  days  before  by 
Jefferson  Davis,  who  took  French  leave  before  the  surrender.  The  news  of  his 
arrival  spread  as  he  walked,  and  from  all  sides  the  colored  people  came  running 
together,  with  crie-i  of  intense  exultation,  to  greet  their  deliverer.  A  writer  in 
the  Atlantic  Monthly  describes  the  scene  as  follows: 

"They  gathered  around  the  president,  ran  ahead,  hovered  upon  the  flanks  of 
the  little  company,  and  hung  like  a  dark  cloud  upon  the  rear.  Men,  women  and 
children  joined  the  constantly  increasing  throng.  They  came  from  all  the 
by-streets,  running  in  breathless  haste,  shouting  and  hallooing,  and  dancing  with 
delight.  The  men  threw  up  their  hats,  the  women  waved  their  bonnets  and 
handkerchiefs,  clapped  their  hands,  and  sang,  "Glory  to  God!  glory,  glory!1' 
rendering  all  the  praise  to  God.  who  had  heard  their  wailings  in  the  past,  their 
meanings  for  wives,  husbands,  children  and  friends  sold  out  of  their  sight,  hnd 
given  them  freedom,  and  after  long  years  of  waiting,  had  permitted  them  thus 
unexpectedly  to  behold  the  face  of  their  great  benefactor. 

"  I  thank  you.  dear  Jesus,  that  I  behold  President  Linkum!"  was  the  exclama 
tion  of  a  \voman  who  stood  upon  the  threshold  of  her  humble  home,  and  with 
streaming  eyes  and  clasped  hands  gave  thanks  aloud  to  the  savior  of  men. 

"Another,  more  demonstrative  in  her  joy.  was  jumping  and  striking  her 
hands  with  all  her  might,  crying,  "Bless  de  Lord!  Bless  de  Lord!  Bless  de  Lord!1' 
as  if  there  could  be  no  end  to  her  thanksgiving. 


186 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


"  The  air  rang  with  a  tumultuous  chorus  of  voices.  The  street  became 
almost  impassable  on  account  of  the  increasing  multitude,  till  soldiers  were 
summoned  to  clear  the  way. 

"  The  walk  was  long,  and  the  president  halted  a  moment  to  rest.  '  May  the 
good  Lord  bless  you,  President  Linkum! '  said  an  old  negro,  removing  his  hat  and 
bowing,  with  tears  of  joy  rolling  down  his  cheeks.  The  president  removed  his 
own  hat,  and  bowed  in  silence;  but  it  was  a  bow  which  upset  the  forms,  laws, 
customs  and  ceremonies  of  centuries.  It  was  a  death-shock  to  chivalry  and  a 


- ^.-v      ^r*-J .   ^?  '•  v    -^  \ '  ^>—  T  •  ;-; ~~         •'•••  ^-~"-^MMsSv\\ 

^^" 

HOUSE    IN    WHICH   GENERAL   LEE  SURRENDERED   TO   GENERAL   GRANT. 

mortal  wound  to  caste.  Recognize  a  nigger!  Faugh !  A  woman  in  an  adjoining 
house  beheld  it,  and  turned  from  the  scene  in  unspeakable  disgust.11 

Lee  was  followed  at  once  by  our  troops,  and  after  a  series  of  great  battles- 
each  forming  an  important  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  war— was  surrounded. 
He  finally  surrendered  at  Appomatox  Court  House,  on  April  9,  1865.  Grant  and 
Lee  met  in  the  parlor  of  William  McLean's  house,  where,  in  a  memorable  inter 
view,  the  terms  of  surrender  were  agreed  upon. 

The  spontaneous  and  universal  rejoicings  of  the  people  of  the  country  at  this 
complete  overthrow  of  the  rebellion  were  such  as  had  never  been  witnessed  before 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  187 

on  any  continent.  Men  laughed,  cried,  shouted,  and  shook  hands  with  each 
other;  there  were  parades  by  day,  and  at  night  America  was  illuminated  by 
discharges  of  fireworks,  and  thousands  of  flaming  torch-light  processions'.  The 
war  was  over.  Peace  stretched  her  white  wings  over  our  beloved  land. 

William  T.  Sherman's  great  march  ufrom  Atlanta  to  the  sea"  ended  at 
Raleigh,  April  13th,  and  here,  thirteen  days  after  his  arrival,  he  received  the  sur 
render  of  'General  Joseph  E.  Johnston.  Both  Lee  and  Johnston  were  treated 
with  consideration  and  magnanimity. 

Jefferson  Davis  was  captured  at  Irwinsville,  Georgia,  May  10th,  by  General 
Wilson's  cavalry.  He  was  conveyed  to  Fortress  Monroe.  He  was  taken  to 
Richmond,  tried  on  a  charge  of  treason,  released  on  bail,  and  finally  dismis-ed. 

Friday,  April  14th,  the  anniversary  of  the  surrender  of  Fort  Sumter  in  1861, 
was  selected  by  the  president  as  the  day  when  General  Robert  Anderson  should 
raise  the  American  flag  upon  the  same  fort.  Lincoln's  humanity  and  magnan 
imity  were  never  more  conspicuously  shown  than  tit  this  period.  There  was  no 
vengeance  in  his  heart  to  be  exploded  upon  the  men  who  had  arrayed  themselves 
in  armies  against  the  government.  The  hate  of  the  conspirators,  how7ever,  had 
not  passed  away;  there  were  rumors  of  plots  in  various  parts  of  the  country 
and  Canada,  and  many  warnings  were  sent  to  the  president,  wrho  had  forebodings 
of  disaster. 

Mr.  Lincoln  sent  a  message  by  Mr.  Colfax,  April  14th,  to  the  miners  in  the 
Rocky  mountains,  and  in  the  regions  bounded  by  the  Pacific  ocean,  in  which  he 
ass  tyed  to  stimulate  their  operations,  and  said:  "Now  that  the  rebellion  is 
overthrown,  and  we  know  pretty  nearly  the  amount  of  our  national  debt,  the 
more  gold  and  silver  we  mine,  we  make  the  payment  of  that  debt  so  much 
easier."  "Now,"  said  he,  speaking  with  more  emphasis,  k'I  am  going  to  encour 
age  that  in  every  possible  wray.  We  shall  have  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dis 
banded  soldiers,  and  many  have  feared  that  tleir  return  home  in  such  great 
numbers  might  paralyze  industry  by  furnishing,  suddenly,  a  greater  supply  of 
labor  than  there  will  be  demand  for.  I  am  going  to  try  to  attract  them  to  the 
hidden  wealth  of  our  mountain  ranges,  where  there  is  room  enough  for  all. 
Immigration,  which  even  the  war  has  not  stopped,  will  land  upon  our  shores 
hundreds  of  thousands  more  per  year  from  overcrowded  Europe.  I  intend  to 
point  them  to  the  gold  and  silver  that  wait  for  them  in  the  West.  Tell  the 
miners  for  me  that  I  shall  promote  their  interests  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability; 
because  their  prosperity  is  the  prosperity  of  the  nation;  and,"  said  he,  his  eye 
kindling  with  enthusiasm,  "  we  shall  prove,  in  a  very  few  years,  that  we  are 
indeed  the  treasury  of  the  world."  Here  spoke  the  political  economist,  the 
philanthropist,  the  statesman  and  the  prophet. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE    ASSASSINATION   OF    PRESIDENT    LINCOLN. 

AT  this  time  the  friends  of  the  Union  cause  were  in  transports  of  delight. 
Earnest,  devout  thanksgivings  were  on  every  tongue,  flaring  forth  from 
every  heart.  Banners  were  in  every  breeze.  Bonfires  blazed  on  every  street. 
Never  were  a  people  at  such  a  height  of  exultation  and  rejoicing. 

On  the  afternoon  of  April  14th,  the  president,  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  drove 
about  the  city  of  Washington,  and  were  received  everywhere  with  affectionate 
greetings.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Cabinet  that  day,  he  had  said,  "  I  have  no  desire 
to  kill  or  hang  the  Confederates.1'  To  his  wife  he  said,  "  When  these  four  years 
are  over,  Mary,  we  will  go  back  to  Illinois,  and  I  will  again  be  a  country  lawyer. 
God  has  been  very  good  to  us." 

On  tli3  night  of  that  same  day  he  attended  Ford's  theater,  and  occupied  a  box. 
He  was  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Lincoln,  Major  H.  R  Rathbone  and  Miss  Clara  W. 
Harris.  The  play  for  that  evening  was  the  "American  Cousin."  The  party  was 
greeted  with  great  applause  from  the  people,  who  came  to  witness  a  comedy,  but 
who  saw  the  most  terrible  of  tragedies. 

The  orchestra  played  "  Hail  to  the  Chief."  The  president  was  pleased,  and 
acknowledged  the  courtesy.  The  curtain  rose  upon  the  second  scene  in  the  last 
,a3b.  Luurj,  Keane,  personating  "Mrs.  Montchessington,"  was  saying  to  "Asa 
Trenchard:" 

"  You  don't  understand  good  society.  That  alone  can  excuse  the  impertinence 
of  which  you  are  guilty." 

"I  guess  I  know  enough  to  turn  you  inside  out,"  was  the  reply  of  Trenchard. 

Jusfc  here  there  was  the  report  of  a  pistol,  and  the  laughter  of  the  audience 
turned  to  demonstrations  of  alarm.  At  fifteen  minutes  after  ten,  John  Wilkes 
Booth,  an  actor  by  profession,  parsed  along  the  passage  behind  the  spectators  in 
the  dress-circle,  showed  a  card  to  the  president's  messenger,  and  stood  for  two  or 
three  minutes,  looking  down  upon  the  stage  and  the  orchestra  below.  He  then 
entered  the  vestibule  of  the  president's  box,  closed  the  door  behind  him,  and 
fastened  it  by  bracing  a  short  plank  against  it  from  the  wall,  so  that  it  could  not 
be  opened  from  the  outside.  He  then  drew  a  small  silver-mounted  Derringer 
pistol,  which  he  carried  in  his  right  hand,  holding  along,  double-edged  dagger  in 
his  left.  All  in  the  box  were  intent  upon  the  proceedings  upon  the  ^tage;  but 

189 


190 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


President  Lincoln  was  leaning  forward,  holding  aside  the  curtain  of  the  box  with 
his  left  hand,  and  looking,  with  his  head  slightly  turned  toward  the  audience. 
Booth  stepped  within  the  inner  door  into  the  box,  directly  behind  the  president, 
and  holding  the  pistol  just  over  the  back  of  the  chair  in  which  he  sat,  shot  him 
through  the  back  of  the  head.  Mr.  Lincoln  bent  slightly  forward,  with  his  eyes 
clo-ed,  but  in  every  other  respect  his  attitude  remained  unchanged. 

Major  Rathbone,  turning  his  eyes  from  the  stage,  saw  a  man  standing  between 
him  and  the  president.  He  instantly  sprang  toward  him  and  seized  him;  but 
Booth  wrested  himself  from  his  grasp,  and  dropping  the  pistol,  struck  at  him  with 
the  dagger,  inflicting  a  severe  wound  upon  his  left  arm  near  the  shoulder.  Booth 
then  rushed  to  the  front  of  the  box  and  shouted,  "Sic  semper  tyrannis!"  put  his 

hand  upon  the  railing  in 
front  of  the  box,  and  leaped 
over  it  upon  the  stage  below. 
As  he  went  over,  his  spur 
caught  in  the  flag  which 
draped  the  front,  and  he  fell; 
but  recovering  himself  im 
mediately,  he  rose,  bran 
dished  the  dagger,  and  facing 
the  audience,  shouted,  "The 
South  is  avenged!" 

The  assassin  escaped  into 
Virginia,  and  found  a  tempo 
rary  refuge  among  the  rebel 
sympathizers  of  lower  Mary 
land.  He  wras  afterward 
caught  and  shot  to  death  by 
one  of  the  soldiers  that  were 
sent  in  pursuit  of  him.  An 
attempt  was  made  to  assas 
sinate  Mr.  Seward,  secretary 
of  state,  at  the  same  timer 
but  without  success. 

The  president  was  borne 

to  a  small  house  across  the  street,  Mrs.  Lincoln,  dazed  and  wild  with  grief,  fol 
lowing  him.  At  a  little  past  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  Abraham  Lincoln 
died,  with  inexpressible  peace  upon  his  face.  "Now  he  belongs  to  the  ages,17  said 
Secretary  Stanton. 

From  the  most  extravagant  demonstrations  of  rejoicing  and  triumph,  the 
people  of  the  entire  North,  with  many  in  the  border  states,  and  many  in  the 
t3rritory  of  fch3  late  Confederacy,  were  plunged  into  grief,  and  almost  into  despair. 
Never  was  there  such  a  transition  from  the  most  transporting  joy  to  the 
profounde^t  sorrow  as  was  experienced  by  the  American  people  the  next  day,  on  the 


The  private  box  in  Ford's  theater,  Washington,  where 
President  Lincoln  was  assassinated  by  John  Wilkes 
Booth,  April  14,  1865. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


191 


memorable  fifteenth  of  April,  1865,  when  the  news  of  the  assassination  of  their 
beloved  president  was  sent  by  telegraph  and  cable  to  all  parts  of  the  civilized 
world.  The  whole  people  were  stricken  with  a  sorrow  that  was  too  great  for 
tears.  People  gathered  in  the  streets  of  great  cities  and  small  villages,  and  were 
wringing  their  own  hands,  in  their  great  brief,  instead  of  joyously  shaking  hands 
with  each  other,  as  they  had  so  recently  done  over  great  and  final  victories. 

But  one  such  scene  had  ever  been  known  in  history.  That  was  when,  nearly 
three  hundred  years  before,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  fiendish  assassin 
Balthaznr  Gerard,  the  proto 
type  of  John  Wilkes  Booth, 
shot  to  death  William  the 
Silent,  the  father  and  re 
deemer  of  the  noble,  liberty- 
loving  people  of  Holland. 
On  that  occasion,  says 
John  Lotlirop  Motley,  "the 
little  children  of  Holland 
shed  tears'1  over  the  strik 
ing  down  of  the  liberator  of 
the  Dutch  people..  The  Hol 
landers  were  lovers  of  liberty ; 
they  had  passed  through  a 
cruel  and  prolonged  crisis, 
and  suffered  beyond  the  pow 
er  of  pen  to  describe,  but  at 
last  the  power  of  the  despot 
was  broken,  and  Holland  and 
the  Dutch  people  enjoyed 
freedom  of  person  and  of 
religious  belief.  The  grief 
of  the  American  people  over 
the  smiting  down  of  the 
great  liberator  of  the  nine 
teenth  century  was  like  that 
of  the  Hollanders,  only  on 
.an  immensely  larger  scale. 

The  feeling  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  at  this  time,  broken-hearted  as 
they  were  at  the  loss  of  their  president,  was,  possibly,  more  intense  than  the 
feelings  of  the  Hollanders.  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  the  people  who  so  loved  him, 
had  not  striven  and  suffered  in  behalf  of  their  own  freedom,  but  of  the  freedom 
of  an  enslaved  and  despised  race.  If  ever  there  was  a  cause  that  was  approved 
in  heaven;  if  ever  a  cause  that  received  the  active  interposition  of  Divine 
Providence,  it  was  the  cause  of  national  unity  and  human  freedom,  which  wr.s 
now  triumphant. 


HOUSE  TN   WHICH    PRESIDENT   LINCOLN   DIED. 


A.   LINCOLN. 


A.   LINCOLN. 


THE  CHAIR  IN   WHICH   PRESIDENT   LINCOLN   SAT  WHEN   ASSASSINATED. 

192 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Mr.  Lincoln  was,  as  we  said  in  the  beginning  of  this  book,  of  all  others  a 
man  of  the  people.  His  tender  but  strong  heart  was  always  full  of  sympathy 
for  each  and  all.  All  classes,  from  the  richest  to  the  poorest  of  the  poor, 


BUST  OF  THE  MARTYRED   PRESIDENT. 


received  his  courteous  attention,  and  in  occasions  of  sorrow,  his  most  sympa 
thetic  feeling  and  efficient  help.  It  is  not  strange  that  in  very  many  instances 
his  pity  overcame  his  prudence,  but  in  no  instance  was  it  to  anybody's  real 
injury.  , 


194 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Not  only  were  the  skies  thick  with  the  smoke  of  battle,  but  schemes  to 
thwart  his  great  purpose,  and  plots  to  destroy  his  best  efforts,  had  constantly  to  be 
contended  against.  Men  of  patriotism  and  purity  of  purpose;  men  who  estimated 
him  and  loved  him,  and  whose  services  were  of  great  value,  mercilessly  criticized 


.     LINCOLN  MONUMENT,   AT  SPRINGFIELD,   ILLINOIS. 

"  Here  sleeps  the  apostle  of  human  liberty." 

his  course;  loyal  but  impatient  patriots  hounded  him  on  to  public  acts  against 
his  better  judgment,  but  his  patience  was  God-like;  he  had  a  purpose  clearly 
formed;  he  seemed  to  see  long  in  advance  the  very  strokes  that  would  break  the 
rebellion  and  restore  peace  to  the  country. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.        v  195 

There  was  one  Counselor  who  never  failed  him,  and  to  whom  he  often  went 
for  comfort  and  wisdom.  He  promised  the  Almighty  that  if  he  would  give  him 
a  victory  he  would  publicly  issue  his  proclamation,  and  give  freedom  to  the 
slaves.  To  this  we  may  well  believe  the  response  was  given,  and  immediately 
the  pledge  was  fulfilled. 

No  man  was  ever  more  viciously  abused  by  apparent  friends,  or  by  secret  or 
open  foes.  The  " father  of  his  country"  was  assailed  with  great  bitterness 
repeatedly  during  his  beneficent  career.  The  best  men  the  world  has  ever  known 
have  been  those  who  have  suffered  the  meanest  and  most  venomous  attacks. 

Mr.  Lincoln  replied  to  few  or  none  of  these.  He  was  so  faithful  and  constant 
in  the  discharge  of  his  supremely  important  duties  that  he  felt  it  would  be  a 
waste  of  time  to  attempt  to  undertake  his  own  vindication.  He  well  knew  that 
history  would  do  him  justice.  Now,  at  last,  an  appreciation  of  his  greatness  and 
his  goodness  and  of  the  inestimable  service  he  had  rendered  his  country  and  its 
people  was  universally  felt  to  the  bottom  of  the  hearts  of  the  common  people. 
The  passage  of  his  mortal  remains  from  Washington  through  various  cities  to 
Springfield,  Illinois,  has  gone  into  the  history  of  the  country.  Again  the 
fountains  of  the  great  depths  of  sorrow  were  opened.  Everywhere  along  the 
route  the  funeral  train  was  met  by  crowds  of  people  with  demonstrations  of 
deepest  mourning.  Now  monuments  stand  in  various  cities  of  the  Union  to  the 
memory  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  emancipator,  and  many  streets  and  avenues 
are  named  in  his  honor.  One  noble  monument  stands  at  Chicago,  where  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  first  nominated  for  the  presidency,  and  another  stands  at  his  old 
home  in  Springfield,  Illinois. 

Countless  were  the  eulogies  and  tributes  to  the  grandeur  of  character  and 
momentous  achievements  of  the  martyred  president.  Some  of  the  most  striking 
came  from  over  the  sea — from  England,  France,  Germany  and  other  parts  of 
Europe.  In  the  following  department  of  this  biography  will  be  found  extracts 
from  specimen  sermons  and  addresses  that  rank  among  the  highest  flights  of 
American  oratory.  We  close  this  chapter  with  some  passages  from  an  oration 
by  the  polished,  deep-thinking  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson: 

"The  president  stood  before  us  a  man  of  the  people.  He  was  thoroughly 
American,  had  never  crossed  the  sea,  had  never  been  spoiled  by  English  insular 
ity  or  French  dissipation;  a  quiet,  native,  aboriginal  man,  as  an  acorn  from  the 
oak;  no  aping  of  foreigners,  no  frivolous  accomplishments,  Kentuckian  bornr 
working  on  a  farm,  a  flatboatman,  a  captain  in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  a  country 
lawyer,  a  representative  in  the  rural  legislature  of  Illinois — on  such  modest 
foundations  the  broad  structure  of  his  fame  was  laid.  How  slowly,  and  yet  by 
happily  prepared  steps,  he  came  tc  his  place. 

"A  plain  man  of  the  people,  extraordinary  fortune  attended  him.  He  offered 
no  shining  qualities  at  the  first  encounter:  he  did  not  offend  by  superiority.  He 
had  a  face  and  manner  which  disarmed  suspicion,  which  inspired  confidence, 
which  confirmed  good-will.  He  was  a  man  without  vices.  He  had  a  strong 
sense  of  duty,  which  it  was  very  easy  for  him  to  obey.-  Then  he  had  what 


196  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

farmers  call  a  long  head;  was  excellent  in  working  out  the  sum  for  himself;  in 
arguing  his  ca^e,  and  convincing  you  fairly  and  firmly.  Then  it  turned  out  that 
he  was  a  great  worker;  had  prodigious  faculty  of  performance;  worked  easily. 
A  good  worker  is  so  rare;  everybody  has  some  disabling  quality.  In  a  host  of 
young  men  that  start  together  and  promise  so  many  brilliant  leaders  for  the  next 
age,  each  fails  on  trial;  one  by  bad  health,  one  by  conceit  or  by  love  of  pleasure,  or 
by  lethargy,  or  by  a  hasty  temper — each  has  some  disqualifying  fault  that 
throws  him  out  of  the  career.  But  this  man  was  sound  to  the  core,  cheerful, 
persistent,  all  right  for  labor,  and  liked  nothing  so  well. 

"  Then  he  had  a  vast  good  nature,  which  made  him  tolerant  and  accessible  to 
all;  fair-minded,  leaning  to  the  claim  of  the  petitioner;  affable,  and  not  sensible 
of  the  affliction  which  the  innumerable  visits,  paid  to  him  when  president,  would 
have  brought  to  any  one  else.  And  how  this  good  nature  became  a  noble 
humanity,  in  many  a  tragic  case  which  the  events  of  the  war  brought  to  him, 
every  one  will  remember;  and  with  what  increasing  tenderness  he  dealt,  when  a 
whole  race  was  thrown  on  his  compassion.  The  poor  negro  said  of  him,  on  an 
impressive  occasion,  'Massa  Linkum  am  everywhere.' 

"Then  his  broad  good  humor,  running  easily  into  jocular  talk,  in  which  he 
delighted,  and  in  which  he  excelled,  was  a  rich  gift  to  this  wise  man.  It  enabled 
him  to  keep  his  secret;  to  meet  every  kind  of  man  and  every  rank  of  society; 
to  take  off  the  edge  of  the  severest  decisions;  to  mask  his  own  purpose  and 
sound  his  companion,  and  to  catch,  with  true  instinct,  the  temper  of  every 
company  he  addressed.  And,  more  than  all,  it  is  to  a  man  of  severe  labor,  in 
anxious  and  exhausting  crises,  the  natural  restorative,  good  as  sleep,  and  is 
the  protection  of  the  overdriven  brain  against  rancor  and  insanity.  He  is  the 
author  of  a  multitude  of  good  sayings,  so  disguised  as  pleasantries  that  it  is 
certain  they  had  no  reputation  at  first  but  as  jests;  and  only  later,  by  the  very 
acceptance  and  adoption  they  find  in  the  mouths  of  millions,  turn  out  to  be  the 
wisdom  of  the  hour. 

"•It  cannot  be  said  there  is  any  exaggeration  of  his  worth.  If  ever  a  man 
was  fairly  tested,  he  was.  There  was  no  lack  of  resistance,  nor  of  slander,  nor 
of  ridicule.  The  times  have  allowed  no  state  secrets;  the  nation  has  been  in 
such  a  ferment,  such  multitudes  had  to  be  trusted,  that  no  secret  could  be  kept. 
Every  door  was  ajar,  and  we  knew  all  that  befell.  Then,  wThat  an  occasion  was 
the  whirlwind  of  the  war.  Here  was  place  for  no  holiday  magistrate,  no  fair- 
weather  sailor;  the  new7  pilot  was  hurried  to  the  helm  in  a  tornado.  In  four 
years — four  years  of  battle  days — his  endurance,  his  fertility  of  resource,  his  mag 
nanimity,  were  sorely  tried  and  never  found  wanting.  There,  by  his  courage, 
his  justice,  his  even  temper,  his  fertile  counsel,  his  humanity,  he  stood  an  heroic 
figure  in  the  center  of  an  heroic  epoch.  He  is  the  true  history  of  the  American 
people  in  his  time.  Step  by  step  he  wralked  before  them;  slow  with  their  slow 
ness,  quickening  his  march  to  theirs;  the  true  representative  of  this  continent; 
an  entirely  public  man;  father  of  his  country,  the  pulse  of  twenty  millions 
throbbing  in  his  heart,  the  thought  of  their  minds  articulated  by  his  tongue/' 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

CONCLUSION". 

IT  is  thirty  years  since  the  close  of  the  war.  We  are  at  last  a  united  people. 
The  term  "  rebel''  has  passed  away,  and  is  only  used  in  honest  records  of  the 
past,  and  without  malice.  Our  American  nation  has  for  its  individual  con 
stituents  a  united,  patriotic  and  loyal  people.  No  men  when  they  meet  greet 
each  other's  faces  or  shake  each  other's  hands  with  more  heartiness  and  deeper 
feelings  of  good  will  than  the  gray-headed  soldiers  of  the  Union  and  of  the 
Confederate  armies.  Men  of  both  armies  meet  under  the  "  stars  and  stripes  "  at 
the  graves  of  the  dead  on  Memorial  day.  There  are  no  more  graceful  or  hearty 
tributes  to  the  high  character  and  the  great  work  of  Abraham  Lincoln  than 
appear  in  the  utterances  on  the  platform  of  a  former  Confederate  general, 
John  B.  Gordon,  of  Georgia,  and  the  former  editor  of  the  Chattanooga  Rebel. 
Henry  Watterson.  There  is  now  no  North,  no  South.  Near  the  battle-fields  of 
the  late  civil  war  iron  furnaces  and  cotton  factories  have  been  erected  by  men 
from  New  England,  Ohio  and  other  northern  states,  and  the  hum  of  new  indus 
tries  fills  the  ambient  air  of  a  new  and  redeemed  South. 

Ma^on  and  Dixon's  line  has  been  efficiently  and  forever  abolished.  There 
an?  Democratic  governors  in  northern  states;  there  are  Republican  governors  in 
southern  states;  and  whenever  people  of  the  different  sections  of  the  country  meet, 
there  are  demonstrations  of  unity,  patriotism,  brotherly  affection  and  peace. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  greatest  man  of  his  time.  He  had  his  faults  and 
defects,  but  who  cares  to  dwell  on  thorn?  What  were  the  elements  of  his  great 
ness?  He  could  see  farther  into  the  pregnant  future  than  cry  man  of  his  day. 
He  had  the  largest  heart  and  the  broadest  sympathies  of  any  man  known  at  the 
time  when  he  lived.  His  patience  and  forbearance  were  Christ-like.  He  had 
a  wonderfully  keen  intellect,  instant  in  its  workings,  and  seemingly  incapable 
of  mistakes.  He  was  a  great  statesman.  In  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves 
was  involved  the  problem  of  ages.  He  was  urged  by  strong  and  great  men 
to  issue  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  long  before  he  did.  He  was  urged 
by  equally  strong  and  great  men  to  delay  its  issue.  He  therefore  stood 
alone,  and  was  forced  to  act  for  himself,  and  results  show  that  he  acted  not 
a  day  too  soon  nor  a  day  too  late.  He  had  a  keen  and  comprehensive  military 
mind.  He  had  been  a  student  of  the  military  records  of  the  past.  He  gave  his 

197 


198 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


greatest  generals  pre-eminently  practical  and  effective  suggestions.  He  was  the 
greatest  orator  of  his  age,  if  great  oratory  means  the  utterance  of  great 
thoughts  and  announcement  of  great  principles,  in  a  manner  that  most  moves 
and  changes  men,  and  that  secures  for  them  a  permanent  place  in  the  annals  of 
a  nation,  and  of  the  world.  The  greatness  of  the  theme  paralyzes  the  pen.  All 
patriots  and  all  friends  of  their  race,  in  all  countries  and  climes,  uncover  then- 
heads  as  they  recall  the  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN! 


THOUGHTS   AND   SAYINGS 


OF 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN 


THOUGHTS   AND    SAYINGS 

OF 

ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


THE  VALUE  OF  EDUCATION. 

(Address  at  New  Salem,  Illinois,  March  9,  1835,  when  a  candidate  for  the  Legislature.) 

Upon  the  subject  of  education,  not  presuming  to  dictate  any  plan  or  system 
respecting  it,  I  can  only  say  that  I  view  it  as  the  most  important  subject  which 
we,  as  a  people,  can  be  engaged  in. 

That  every  man  may  receive  at  least  a  moderate  education,  and  thereby  be 
enabled  to  read  the  histories  of  his  own  and  other  countries,  by  which  he  may 
duly  appreciate  the  value  of  our  free  institutions,  appears  to  be  an  object  of  vital 
importance;  even  on  this  account  alone,  to  say  nothing  of  the  advantages  arid 
satisfaction  to  be  derived  from  all  being  able  to  read  the  Scriptures  and  other 
works,  both  of  a  religious  and  moral  nature,  for  themselves. 

For  my  part,  I  desire  to  see  the  time  when  education,  by  its  means,  morality, 
sobriety,  enterprise  and  integrity,  shall  become  much  more  general  than  at 
present,  arid  should  be  gratified  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  contribute  something 
to  the  advancement  of  any  measure  which  might  have  a  tendency  to  accelerate 
the  happy  period. 

Every  man  is  said  to  have  his  peculiar  ambition.  Whether  it  be  true  or  not, 
I  can  say,  for  one,  that  I  have  no  other  so  great  as  that  of  being  truly  esteemed 
of  my  fellow-men.  How  far  I  shall  succeed  in  gratifying  this  ambition  is  yet  to 
be  developed.  I  am  young,  and  unknown  to  many  of  you.  I  was  born,  and  have 
ever  remained,  in  the  most  humble  walks  of  life.  I  have  no  wealthy  popular 
relations  or  friends  to  recommend  me.  My  case  is  thrown  exclusively  upon  the 
independent  voters  of  the  county;  and,  if  elected,  they  will  have  conferred  a  favor 
upon  me  for  which  I  shall  be  unremitting  in  my  labors  to  compensate. 

But  if  the  good  people  in  their  wisdom  shall  see  fit  to  keep  me  in  the 
background,  I  have  been  too  familiar  with  disappointment  to  be  very  much 

chagrined. 

an 


202  THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

SPEECH  ON   THE  DRED  SCOTT  DECISION. 

(Delivered  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  June  26,  1857.  j 

The  chief -justice  does  not  directly  assert,  but  plainly  assumes  as  a  fact,  that 
the  public  estimate  of  the  black  man  is  more  favorable  now  than  it  was  in  the 
days  of  the  Revolution. 

In  those  days,  by  common  consent,  the  spread  of  the  black  man's  bondage  to 
the  new  countries  was  prohibited;  but  now  Congress  decides  that  it  will  not  con 
tinue  the  prohibition,  and  the  Supreme  Court  decides  that  it  could  not  if  it  would. 

In  those  days,  our  Declaration  of  Independence  was  held  sacred  by  all,  and 
thought  to  include  all;  but  now,  to  aid  in  making  the  bondage  of  the  negro  uni 
versal  and  eternal,  it  is  assailed  and  sneered  at,  and  constructed  and  hawked  at, 
and  torn,  till,  if  its  framers  could  rise  from  their  graves,  they  could  not  at  all 
recognize  it. 

All  the  powers  of  earth  seem  rapidly  combining  against  him;  Mammon  is 
after  him,  ambition  follows,  philosophy  follows,  and  the  theology  of  the  day 
is  fast  joining  the  cry. 


THE  TEMPERANCE  CAUSE. 

(Address   before  the  Washingtonian   Temperance   Society,  Springfield,  Illinois,  February  22, 

1842.) 

The  cause  itself  seems  suddenly  transformed  from  a  cold  abstract  theory  to 
a  living,  breathing,  active  and  powerful  chieftain  going  forth  "conquering  and  to 
conquer.1'  The  citadels  of  his  great  adversary  are  daily  being  stormed  and  dis 
mantled;  his  temples  and  altars,  where  the  rites  of  his  idolatrous  worship  have 
long  been  performed,  and  where  human  sacrifices  have  long  been  wont  to  be 
made,  are  daily  desecrated  and  deserted. 

The  trump  of  the  conqueror's  fame  is  sounding  from  hill  to  hill,  from  sea  to 
sea,  and  from  land  to  laud,  and  calling  millions  to  his  standard  at  a  blast. 

When  one  who  has  long  been  known  as  a  victim  of  intemperance  bursts  the 
fetters  that  have  bound  him,  and  appears  before  his  neighbors  "clothed  in  his 
right  mind,"  a  redeemed  specimen  of  Long-lost  humanity,  and  stands  up  with 
tears  of  joy  trembling  in  his  eyes,  to  tell  of  the  miseries  once  endured,  now  to 
be  endured  no  more  forever;  of  his  once  naked  and  starving  children,  now  clad 
and  fed  comfortably;  of  a  wife,  long  weighed  down  with  woe,  weeping,  and 
a  broken  heart,  now  restored  to  health,  happiness  and  a  renewed  affection;  and 
how  easily  it  is  all  done,  once  it  is  resolved  to  be  done — how  simple  his  language! 
There  is  a  logic  and  eloquence  in  it  that  few  with  human  feelings  can  resist. 

It  is  an  old  and  true  maxim  that  ua  drop  of  honey  catches  more  flies  than  a 
gallon  of  gall."  So  with  men.  If  you  would  win  a  man  to  your  cause,  first 
convince  him  that  you  are  his  sincere  friend.  Therein  is  a  drop  of  honey  that 
catches  his  heart;  which,  say  what  he  will,  is  the  great  highroad  to  his  reason, 
and  when  once  gained,  you  will  find  but  little  trouble  in  convincing  his  judg- 


THOUGHTS   AND   SAYINGS   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  203 

ment  of  the  justice  of  your  cause,  if,  indeed,  that  cause  really  be  a  just  one. 
On  the  contrary,  assume  to  dictate  to  his  judgment,  or  to  command  his  action 
or  to  mark  him  as  one  to  be  shunned  and  despised,  and  he  will  retreat  within 
himself,  close  all  the  avenues  to  his  head  and  his  heart,  and  though  your  cause  be 
naked  truth  itself,  transformed  to  the  heaviest  lance,  harder  than  steel,  and 
sharper  than  steel  can  be  made,  and  though  you  throw  it  with  more  than  hurcu- 
lean  force  and  precision,  you  shall  be  no  more  able  to  pierce  him  than  to  pen 
etrate  the  hard  shell  of  a  tortoise  with  a  rye  straw. 

Of  our  political  revolution  of  '76  we  are  all  justly  proud.  It  has  given  us  a 
degree  of  political  freedom  far  exceeding  that  of  any  other  nation  of  the  earth. 
But  with  all  these  glorious  results,  past,  present  and  to  come,  it  had  its  evils, 
too.  It  breathed  forth  famine,  swam  in  blood,  and  rode  in  fire;  and  long,  long 
after,  the  orphans'  cry  and  the  widows'  wail  continued  to  break  the  sad  silence 
that  ensued.  These  are  the  price,  the  inevitable  price,  paid  for  the  blessings  it 
brought. 

Turn  now  to  the  temperance  resolution.  In  it  we  shall  find  a  stronger  bond 
age  broken,  a  viler  slavery  manumitted,  a  greater  tyrant  deposed — in  it  more  of 
want  supplied,  more  disease  healed,  more  sorrow  assuaged.  By  it,  no  orphans 
starving,  no  widows  weeping.  By  it,  none  wounded  in  feeling,  none  injured  in 
interest;  even  the  dram-maker  and  dram-seller  will  have  glided  into  other  occu 
pations  so  gradually  as  never  to  have  felt  the  change,  and  will  stand  ready  to 
join  all  others  in  the  universal  song  of  gladness. 

And  what  a  noble  ally  this,  to  the  cause  of  political  freedom;  with  such  an 
aid,  its  march  cannot  fail  to  be  on  and  on,  till  every  son  of  earth  shall  drink  in 
rich  fruition  the  sorrow-quenching  draughts  of  perfect  liberty! 

Happy  day  when,  all  appetite  controlled,  all  passions  subdued,  all  matter 
subjugated,  mind — all-conquering  mind — shall  live  and  move,  the  monarch  of 
the  world!  Glorious  consummation!  Hail,  fall  of  fury!  Reign  of  reason,  all 
hail! 

And  when  the  victory  shall  be  complete — when  there  shall  be  neither  a  slave 
nor  a  drunkard  on  earth — how  proud  the  title  of  that  land  which  may  truly 
claim  to  be  the  birthplace  and  cradle  of  both  tho?e  resolutions  that  shall  have 
ended  in  that  victory!  How  nobly  distinguished  that  people  who  shall  have 
planted,  and  nurtured  to  maturity,  both  the  political  and  moral  freedom  of  their 
species! 

This  is  the  one  hundred  and  tenth  anniversary  of  the  birthday  of  Washing 
ton — we  are  met  to  celebrate  this  day. 

Washington  is  the  mightiest  name  on  earth — long  since  the  mightiest  in  the 
cause  of  civil  liberty,  still  mightiest  in  moral  reformation. 

On  that  name  a  eulogy  is  expected.  It  cannot  be.  To  add  brightness  to  the 
sun  or  glory  to  the  name  of  Washington  is  alike  impossible.  Let  none 
attempt  it. 

In  solemn  awe  pronounce  the  name,  and,  in  its  naked,  deathless  Splendor, 
leave  it  shining  on. 


204  THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

HOPELESS   PEACEFUL    EMANCIPATION    OF    THE   SLAVE. 

(Letter  to   Hon.   George   Robertson,  Lexington,   Kentucky,   August  I5:   I85o.; 

So  far  as  peaceful  voluntary  emancipation  is  concerned,  the  condition  of  the 
negro  slave  in  America,  scarcely  less  terrible  to  the  contemplation  of  a  free  mind, 
is  now  as  fixed  and  hopeless  of  change  for  the  better  as  that  of  the  lost  souls  of 
the  finally  impenitent. 

The  autocrat  of  all  the  Russias  will  resign  his  crown,  and  proclaim  his  sub 
jects  free  republicans,  sooner  than  will  our  American  masters  voluntarily  give 
up  their  slaves. 

Our  political  problem  now  is,  Can  we  as  a  nation  continue  together  perma 
nently,  forever,  half  slave  and  half  free?  The  problem  is  too  mighty  for  mo. 
May  God  in  his  mercy  superintend  the  solution! 


"I  SWEAR  ETERNAL  FIDELITY  TO   THE  JUST  CAUSE." 

(Speech  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  during  the  Harrison  presidential  campaign,  1840.) 

Many  free  countries  have  lost  their  liberty,  and  ours  may  lose  hers;  but  if 
she  shall,  be  it  my  proudest  plume,  not  that  I  was  last  to  desert,  but  that  I  never 
deserted  her. 

I  know  that  the  great  volcano  at  Washington,  aroused  and  directed  by  the 
evil  spirit  that  reigns  there,  is  belching  forth  the  lava  of  political  corruption  in 
a  current  broad  and  deep,  which  is  sweeping  with  frightful  velocity  over  the 
whole  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  bidding  fair  to  leave  unscathed  no  green 
spot  or  living  thing. 

I  cannot  deny  that  all  may  be  swept  away.  Broken  by  it,  I,  too,  may  be;  bow 
to  it  I  never  will.  The  possibility  that  we  may  fail  in  the  struggle  ought  not  to 
deter  us  from  the  support  of  a  cause  which  we  believe  to  be  just.  It  shall  not 
deter  me. 

If  ever  I  feel  the  soul  within  me  elevate  and  expand  to  those  dimensions  not 
wholly  unworthy  of  its  Almighty  Architect,  it  is  when  I  contemplate  the  cause 
of  my  country,  deserted  by  all  the  world  beside,  and  I  standing  up  boldly  alone, 
and  hurling  defiance  at  her  victorious  oppressors. 

Here,  without  contemplating  consequences,  before  heaven,  and  in  the  face  of 
the  world,  I  swear  eternal  fidelity  to  the  just  cause,  as  I  deem  it,  of  the  land  of 
my  life,  my  liberty,  and  my  love;  and  who  that  thinks  with  me  will  not  fearlessly 
adopt  the  oath  that  I  take? 

Let  non^  falter  who  thinks  he  is  right,  and  we  may  succeed. 

But  if,  after  all,  we  shall  fail,  be  it  so;  we  have  the  proud  consolation  of  say 
ing  to  our  consciences,  and  to  the  departed  shade  of  our  country's  freedom,  that 
the  cause  approved  of  our  judgment,  and,  adorned  of  our  hearts  in  disaster,  in 
chains,  in  death,  we  never  faltered  in  defending. 


itl  m 


/* 


THE   CABINET-ROOM   AT   THE   Vv'IITTE    I10UOE. 


THE  ARLINGTON   HOUSE. 
205 


206  THOUGHTS   AND   SAYINGS   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

REDEMPTION   OF    THE   AFRICAN  RACE. 

(Eulogy  on  the  life  and  character  of  Henry  Clay,  Springfield,  Illinois,  July  16,  1852.) 

This  suggestion  of  the  possible  ultimate  redemption  of  the  African  race  and 
African  continent  was  made  twenty-five  years  ago.  Every  succeeding  year  has 
added  strength  to  the  hope  of  its  realization.  May  it  indeed  be  realized! 
Pharaoh's  country  was  cursed  with  plagues,  and  his  hosts  drowned  in  the  Red 
sea  for  striving  to  retain  a  captive  people  who  had  already  served  them  more 
than  four  hundred  years.  May  like  disaster  never  befall  us! 

If,  as  the  friends  of  colonization  hope,  the  present  and  coming  generations  ot 
our  countrymen  shall,  by  any  means,  succeed  in  freeing  our  land  from  the 
dangerous  presence  of  slavery,  and  at  the  same  time  restoring  a  captive  people  to 
their  long-lost  fatherland,  with  bright  prospects  for  the  future,  and  this,  too,  so 
gradually  that  neither  races  nor  individuals  shall  have  suffered  by  the  change,  it 
will,  indeed,  be  a  glorious  consummation. 

And  if  to  such  a  consummation  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Clay  shall  have  contributed, 
it  will  be  what  he  most  ardently  wished;  and  none  of  his  labors  will  have  been 
more  valuable  to  his  country  and  his  kind. 


THE  INJUSTICE   OF  SLAVERY. 

(Speech  at  Peoria,  Illinois,  October  16,  1854.) 

This  declared  indifference,  but,  as  I  must  think,  covert  zeal,  for  the  spread  of 
slavery  I  cannot  but  hate.  I  hate  it  because  of  the  monstrous  injustice  of 
slavery  itself  ;  I  hate  it  because  it  deprives  our  republic  of  an  example  of  its  just 
influence  in  the  world;  enables  the  enemies  of  free  institutions  with  plausibility 
to  taunt  us  as  hypocrites;  causes  the  real  friends  of  freedom  to  doubt  our  sin 
cerity;  and  especially  because  it  forces  so  many  really  good  men  among  our 
selves  into  an  open  war  with  the  very  fundamental  principles  of  civil  liberty, 
criticizing  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  insisting  that  there  is  no  right 
principle  of  action  but  self-interest. 

The  doctrine  of  self-government  is  right — absolutely  and  eternally  right — 
but  it  has  no  just  application,  as  here  attempted.  Or,  perhaps,  I  should  rather 
say  that  whether  it  has  such  just  application  depends  upon  whether  a  negro  is 
not,  or  is,  a  man.  If  he  is  not  a  man,  in  that  case  he  who  is  a  man  may,  as  a 
matter  of  self-government,  do  just  what  he  pleases  with  him.  But  if  the  negro 
is  a  man,  is  it  not  to  that  extent  a  total  destruction  of  self-government  to  say 
that  he,  too,  shall  not  govern  himself  ? 

When  the  white  man  governs  himself,  that  is  self-government;  but  when  he 
governs  himself,  and  also  governs  another  man,  that  is  more  than  self-govern 
ment — that  is  despotism. 

What  I  do  say  is  that  no  man  is  good  enough  to  govern  another  man  without 
that  other's  consent. 


THOUGHTS   AND   SAYINGS   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  207 

The  master  not  only  governs  the  slave  without  his  consent,  but  he  governs 
him  by  a  set  of  rules  altogether  different  from  those  which  he  prescribes  for  him 
self.  Allow  all  the  governed  an  equal  voice  in  the  government;  that,  and  that 
only,  is  self-government. 

Slavery  is  founded  in  the  selfishness  of  man's  nature — opposition  to  it,  in  his 
love  of  justice.  These  principles  are  an  eternal  antagonism;  and  when  brought 
into  collision  so  fiercely  as  slavery  extension  brings  them,  shocks  and  throes  and 
convulsions  must  ceaselessly  follow. 

Repeal  the  Missouri  Compromise — repeal  all  compromise — and  repeal  the 
Declaration  of  Independence — repeal  all  past  history — still  you  cannot  repeal 
human  nature. 

I  particularly  object  to  the  new  position  which  the  avowed  principles  of  the 
Nebraska  law  gives  to  slavery  in  the  body  politic.  I  object  to  it  because  it 
assumes  that  there  can  be  moral  right  in  the  enslaving  of  one  man  by  another. 
I  object  to  it  as  a  dangerous  dalliance  for  a  free  people — a  sad  evidence  that,  feel 
ing  prosperity,  we  forget  right — that  liberty  as  a  principle  we  have  ceased  to 
revere. 

Little  by  little,  but  steadily  as  man's  march  to  the  grave,  we  have  been  giving 
up  the  old  for  the  new  faith.,  Near  eighty  years  ago  we  began  by  declaring  that1 
all  men  are  created  equal;  but  now  from  that  beginning  we  have  run  down  to 
the  other  declaration  that  for  some  men  to  enslave  others  is  a  "sacred  right  of 
self-government."  These  principles  cannot  stand  together.  They  are  as  opposite 
as  God  and  Mammon. 

Our  republican  robe  is  soiled  and  trailed  in  the  dust.  Let  us  purify  it.  Let 
us  turn  and  wash  it  white,  in  the  spirit,  if  not  in  the  blood,  of  the  Revolution. 

Let  us  turn  slavery  from  its  claims  of  "moral  right"  back  upon  its  existing 
legal  rights,  and  its  arguments  of  "necessity."  Let  us  return  it  to  the  position 
our  fathers  gave  it,  and  there  let  ft  rest  in  peace. 

Let  us  readopt  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  the  practices  and 
policy  which  harmonize  with  it.  Let  North  and  South — let  all  Americans — let 
all  lovers  of  liberty  everywhere,  join  in  the  great  and  good  work. 

If  we  do  this,  we  shall  not  only  have  saved  the  Union,  but  shall  have  so 
saved  it  as  to  make  and  to  keep  it  forever  worthy  of  saving.  We  shall  have  so 
saved  it  that  the  succeeding  millions  of  free,  happy  people,  the  world  over,  shall 
rise  up  and  call  us  blessed  to  the  latest  generations. 


"THOSE  WHO   DENY  FREEDOM  TO  OTHERS." 

(Letter  to  the  Republicans  of  Boston,  April,  1859.) 

This  is  a  world  of  compensation,  and  he  who  would  be  no  slave,  must  consent 
to  have  no  slave.  Those  who  deny  freedom  to  others  deserve  it  not  for  them 
selves,  and  under  a  just  God  cannot  long  retain  it. 


208  THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

"ALL   MEN   ARE   CREATED  EQUAL." 

(Speech  at  the  Republican  banquet,  Chicago,  Illinois,  December  10,  1856,  after  the  presidential 

campaign.) 

Our  government  rests  in  public  opinion.  Whoever  can  change  public 
opinion  can  change  the  government  practically  just  so  much.  Public  opinion, 
on  any  subject,  always  has  a  "central  idea,"  from  which  all  its  minor  thoughts 
radiate.  That  "  central  idea'1  in  our  political  public  opinion  at  the  beginning 
was,  and  until  recently  has  continued  to  be,  k'  the  equality  of  man."  And  although 
it  has  always  submitted  patiently  to  whatever  of  inequality  there  seemed  to  be 
as  a  matter  of  actual  necessity,  its  constant  working  has  been  a  steady  progress 
toward  the  practical  equality  of  all  men. 

Let  everyone  who  really  believes,  and  is  resolved,  that  i'ree  society  is  not  and 
shall  not  be  a  failure,  and  who  can  conscientiously  declare  that  in  the  past  con 
test  he  has  done  only  what  he  thought  best — let  every  such  one  have  charity  to 
believe  that  every  other  one  can  say  as  much. 

Thus,  let  bygones  be  bygones;  let  party  differences  as  nothing  be,  and  with 
steady  eye  on  the  real  issue,  let  us  reinaiigurate  the  good  old  "central  ideas"  of 
the  republic.  We  can  do  it.  The  human  heart  is  with  us;  God  is  with  us. 

We  shall  again  be  able  not  to  declare  that  "all  states  as  states  are  equal,'' 
nor  yet  that  "all  citizens  as  citizens  are  equal,"  but  to  renew  the  broader,  better 
declaration,  including  both  these  and  much  more,  that  "all  men  are  created 
equal." 


"THE    ONE   RETROGRADE   INSTITUTION   IN   AMERICA." 

(  Reply  to  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  on  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  Springfield,  Illinois, 

October  4,  1854.) 

Be  not  deceived.  The  spirit  of  the  Revolution  and  the  spirit  of  Nebraska 
are  antipodes;  and  the  former  is  being  rapidly  displaced  by  the  latter.  Shall 
we  make  no  effort  to  arrest  this?  Already  the  liberal  party  throughout  the 
world  expresses  the  apprehension  "  that  the  one  retrograde  institution  in  America 
is  undermining  the  principles  of  progress,  and  fatally  violating  the  noblest 
political  system  the  world  ever  saw."  This  is  not  the  taunt  of  enemies,  but  the 
warning  of  friends.  Is  it  quite  safe  to  disregard  it,  to  disparage  it?  Is  there  no 
danger  to  liberty  itself  in  discarding  the  earliest  practice  and  first  precept  of  our 
ancient  faith  ? 

In  our  greedy  haste  to  make  profit  of  the  negro,  let  us  beware  lest  we  cancel 
and  rend  in  pieces  even  the  white  man's  character  of  freedom. 

My  distinguished  friend  Douglas  says  it  is  an  insult  to  the  emigrant  to 
Kansas  and  Nebraska  to  suppose  they  are  not  able  to  govern  themselves.  We 
must  not  slur  over  an  argument  of  this. kind  because  it  happens  to  tickle  the  ear. 
It  must  be  met  and  answered. 

I  admit  the  emigrant  to  Kansas  and  Nebraska  is  competent  to 'govern  him 
self,  but  I  deny  his  right  io  govern  any  other  person  without  that  person's  consent. 


THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  209 

"A  HOUSE   DIVIDED  AGAINST  ITSELF  CANNOT  STAND." 

(The  following  speech,  afterward  severely  criticized  by  many  of  the  author's  own  friends,  was 
delivered  by  Mr.  Lincoln  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  June  17, 1858,  at  the  close  of  the  Republican 
state  convention  which  nominated  him  for  the  United  States  Senate.) 

If  we  could  first  know  where  we  are,  and  whither  we  are  tending,  we  could 
better  judge  what  to  do  and  how  to  doit.  We  are  now  far  into  the  fifth  year 
since  a  policy  was  initiated  with  the  avowed  object  and  confident  promise  of 
putting  an  end  to  slavery  agitation.  Under  the  operation  of  that  policy  that 
agitation  has  not  only  not  ceased,  but  has  constantly  augmented. 

In  my  opinion,  it  will  not  cease  until  a  crisis  shall  have  been  reached  and 
passed. 

"A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand."  I  believe  this  government 
cannot  endure  pann  inently  half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not  expect  the  Union 
to  be  dissolved;  I  do  not  expect  the  house  to  fall;  but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to 
be  divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the  other. 

Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest  the  further  spread  of  it,  and  place 
it  where  the  public  mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate 
extinction,  or  its  advocates  will  push  it  forward,  till  it  shall  become  alike  lawful 
in  all  the  states — old  as  well  as  new,  North  as  well  as  South. 

Our  cause,  then,  must  be  intrusted  to  and  conducted  by  its  own  undoubted 
friends — those  whose  hands  are  free,  whose  hearts  are  in  the  work — who  do  care 
for  the  result. 

The  result  is  not  doubtful.  We  shall  not  fail— 4f  we  stand  firm,  we  shall  not 
fail.  Wise  counsels  may  accelerate,  or  mistakes  delay  it,  but  sooner  or  later  the 
victory  is  sure  to  come. 


"THIS  NATION  CANNOT  LIVE  ON  INJUSTICE." 

(Remarks  defending  his  speech,  June  17, 1858,  '"A  House  Divided  Against  Itself,"  etc.) 

Friends,  I  have  thought  about  this  matter  a  great  deal,  have  weighed  the 
question  well  from  all  corners,  and  am  thoroughly  convinced  the  time  has  come 
when  it  should  be  uttered;  and  if  it  must  be  that  I  must  go  down  because  of  this 
speech,  then  let  me  go  down  linked  to  truth — die  in  the  advocacy  of  what  is  right 
and  just. 

This  nation  cannot  live  on  injustice.  ''A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot 
stand,''  I  say  again  and  again. 


"WISEST  THING   I  EVER  DID." 

(Reply  to  friends  at  Bloomington,  Illinois,  in  regard  to  the  "  House  Divided  "  speech.) 

You  may  think  that  speech  was  a  mistake;  but  I  have  never  believed  it  was, 
and  you  will  see  the  day  when  you  will  consider  it  the  wisest  thing  Fever  did. 


THE   WHITE   HOUSE,  APRIL  \i,    1865. 


LINCOLN'S   OLD  .HOME,    SPRINGFIELD,   ILLINOIS,    MAY   16,    1865. 
210 


THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  211 

THE  LINCOLN  AND  DOUGLAS  JOINT  DEBATE. 

(First  joint  debate,  Ottawa,  Illinois,  August  21,  1858.-) 

I  have  no  purpose,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  interfere  with  the  institution  of 
slavery  in  the  state  where  it  exists.  I  believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so, 
and  I  have  no  inclination  to  do  so.  I  agree  with  Judge  Douglas:  he  [the  negro] 
is  not  my  equal  in  many  respects — certainly  not  in  color;  perhaps  not  in  moral 
or  intellectual  endowment.  But  in  the  right  to  eat  the  bread — without  the  leave 
of  anybody  else — which  his  own  hand  earns,  he  is  my  equal,  and  the  equal  of 
Judge  Douglas,  and  the  equal  of  every  living  man. 

I  think,  and  shall  try  to  show,  that  it  is  wrong,  wrong  in  its  direct  effect, 
letting  slavery  into  Kansas  and  Nebraska — and  wrong  in  its  prospective  prin 
ciple;  allowing  it  to  spread  to  every  other  part  of  the  wide  world,  where  men  can 
be  found  inclined  to  take  it. 

I  have  no  prejudice  against  the  southern  people.  They  are  just  what  we 
would  be  in  their  situation.  If  slavery  did  not  now  exist  among  them,  they 
would  not  introduce  it.  If  it  did  now  exist  among  us,  we  should  not  instantly 
give  it  up.  This  I  believe  of  the  masses  North  and  South.  Doubtless  there  are 
individuals  on  both  sides  who  would  not  hold  slaves  under  any  circumstances, 
and  others  who  would  gladly  introduce  slavery  anew,  if  it  were  out  of  existence. 

When  southern  people  tell  us  they  are  no  more  responsible  for  the  origin  of 
slavery  than  we,  I  acknowledge  the  fact.  When  it  is  said  that  the  institution 
exists,  and  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  rid  of  it  in  any  satisfactory  way,  I  can 
understand  and  appreciate  the  saying.  I  surely  will  not  blame  them  for  not 
doing  what  I  should  not  know  how  to  do  myself.  If  all  earthly  power  were 
given  me,  [  should  not  know  what  to  do  as  to  the  existing  institution. 

With  public  sentiment,  nothing  can  fail;  without  it,  nothing  can  succeed. 
Consequently,  he  who  molds  public  sentiment  goes  deeper  than  he  who  enacts 
statutes  or  pronounces  decisions.  He  makes  statutes  and  decisions  possible  or 
impossible  to  be  executed. 

(Second  joint  debate,  Fi-eeport,  Illinois,  August  27,  1858.) 

Answers  to  the  seven  questions  propounded  by  Mr.  Douglas: 

I  do  not  now,  nor  ever  did,  stand  in  favor  of  the  unconditional  repeal  of  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Law. 

I  do  not  now,  nor  ever  did,  stand  pledged  against  the  admission  of  any  more 
slave  states  into  the  Union. 

I  do  not  stand  pledged  against  the  admission  of  a  new  state  into  the  Union, 
with  such  a  constitution  as  the  people  of  that  state  may  see  fit  to  make. 

I  do  not  stand  to-day  pledged  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia. 

I  do  not  stand  pledged  to  the  prohibition  of  the  slave  trade  between  the 
different  states. 

I  am  impliedly,  if  not  expressly,  pledged  to  a  belief  in  the  right  and  duty  of 
Congress  to  prohibit  slavery  in  all  the  United  States  territories. 


212  THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

I  ain  not  generally  opposed  to  honest  acquisition  of  territory;  and,  in  any 
given  case,  I  would  or  would  not  oppose  such  acquisition,  accordingly  as  I  might 
think  such  acquisition  would  or  would  not  aggravate  the  slavery  question  among 

ourselves. 

(Third  joint  debate,  Jonesboro,  Illinois,  September  15,  1858.) 

I  say,  in  the  way  our  fathers  originally  left  the  slavery  question,  the  institu 
tion  was  in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction,  and  the  public  mind  rested  in  the 
belief  that  it  was  in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction.  I  say,  when  this  govern 
ment  was  first  established,  it  was  the  policy  of  its  founders. to  prohibit  the  spread 
of  shivery  into  the  new  territories  of  the  United  States,  where  it  had  not  existed. 

All  I  have  asked  or  desired  anywhere  is  that  it  should  be  placed  back  again 
upon  the  basis  that  the  fathers  of  our  government  originally  placed  it.  I  have 
no  doubt  that  it  would  become  extinct  for  all  time  to  come,  if  we  but  readopt 
the  policy  of  the  fathers  by  restricting  it  to  the  limits  it  has  already  covered 
— restricting  it  from  the  new  territories. 

(Fourth  joint  debate,  Charleston,  Illinois,  September  18,  1858.) 

I  have  always  wanted  to  deal  with  everyone  I  meet  candidly  and  honestly. 
If  I  have  made  any  assertion  not  warranted  by  facts,  and  it  is  pointed  out  to  meT 
I  will  withdraw  it  cheerfully. 

The  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill  was  introduced  four  years  and  a  half  ago,  and  if  the 
agitation  is  ever  to  come  to  an  end,  we  may  say  we  are  four  years  and  a  half 
nearer  the  end.  So,  too,  we  can  say  we  are  four  years  and  a  half  nearer  the  end 
of  the  world;  and  we  can  just  as  clearly  see  the  end  of  the  world  as  we  can  see 
the  end  of  this, agitation. 

If  Kansas  should  sink  to-day,  and  leave  a  great  vacant  space  in  the  earth's 
surface,  this  vexed  question  would  still  be  among  us.  I  say,  then,  there  is  no 
way  of  putting  an  end  to  the  slavery  agitation  amongst  us  but  to  put  it  back 
upon  the  basis  where  our  fathers  placed  it,  no  way  but  to  keep  it  out  of  our  new 
territories — to  restrict  it  forever  to  the  old  states  where  it  now  exists.  Then  the 
public  mind  will  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction. 

(Fifth  joint  debate,  Galesburg,  Illinois,  October  7,  1858.) 

And  now  it  onl}r  remains  for  me  to  say  that  I  think  it  is  a  very  grave  question 
for  the  people  of  this  Union  to  consider  whether,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  this 
slavery  question  has  been  the  only  one  that  has  ever  endangered  our  republican 
institutions — the  only  one  that  has  ever  threatened  or  menaced  a  dissolution  of 
the  Union,  that  has  ever  disturbed  us  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  us  fear  for  the 
perpetuity  of  our  liberty — in  view  of  these  facts,  I  think  it  is  an  exceedingly 
interesting  and  important  question  for  this  people  to  consider — whether  we  shall 
engage  in  the  policy  of  acquiring  additional  territory,  discarding  altogether  from 
our  consideration  while  obtaining  new  territory  the  question  how  it  may  affect 
us  in  regard  to  this,  the  only  endangering  element  to  our  liberties  and  national 
greatness. 


THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  213 

(Sixth  joint  debate,  Quincy,  Illinois,  October  13,  1858.) 

Wi3  have  in  this  nation  this  element  of  domestic  slavery.  It  is  the  opinion 
of  all  the  great  men  who  have  expressed  an  opinion  upon  it  that  it  is  a  dangerous 
element.  We  keep  up  a  controversy -in  regard  to  it.  That  controversy  neces 
sarily  springs  from  differences  of  opinion,  and  it'  we  can  learn  exactly — can 
reduce  to  the  lowest  elements — what  that  difference  of  opinion  is,  we  perhaps 
shall  be  better  prepared  for  discussing  the  different  systems  of  policy  that  we 
would  propose  in  regard  to  that  disturbing  element. 

I  suggest  that  the  difference  of  opinion,  reduced  to  its  lowest  terms,  is  no 
other  than  the  difference  between  the  men  who  think  slavery  a  wrong  and  those 
who  do  not  think  it  wrong.  We  think  it  is  a  wrong,  not  confining  itself  merely 
to  the  persons  or  to  the  states  where  it  exists,  but  that  it  is  a  wrong  in  its 
tendency,  to  say  the  least,  that  extends  itself  to  the  existence  of  the  whole 
nation. 

Because  we  think  it  wrong,  we  propose  a  course  of  policy  that  shall  deal  with 
it  as  a  wrong.  We  deal  with  it  as  with  any  other  wrrong,  in  so  far  as  we  can 
prevent  its  growing  any  larger,  and  so  deal  with  it  that,  in  the  run  of  time,  there 
may  be  some  promise  of  an  end  to  it. 

(Seventh  and  last  joint  debate,  Alton,  Illinois,  October  15,  1858.) 

It  may  be  argued  that  there  are  certain  conditions  that  make  necessities  and 
impose  them  upon  us,  and  to  the  extent  that  if  a  necessity  is  imposed  upon  a  man 
he  must  submit  to  it.  I  think  that  was  the  condition  in  which  we  found  our 
selves  when  we  established  this  government. 

We  had  slaves  among  us;  we  could  not  get  our  Constitution  unless  we  per 
mitted  them  to  remain  in  slavery;  we  could  not  secure  the  good  we  did  secure  if 
we  grasped  for  more;  and  having  by  necessity  submitted  to  that  much,  it  does 
not  destroy  the  principle  that  is  the  charter  of  our  liberties.  Let  the  charter 
remain  as  a  standard. 

I  think  the  authors  of  that  notable  instrument  intended  to  include  all  men, 
but  they  did  not  mean  to  declare  all  men  equal  in  all  respects. 

They  defined  with  tolerable  distinctness  in  what  they  did  consider  all  men 
created  equal;  -equal  in  certain  inalienable  rights,  among  which  are  life,  liberty, 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  This  they  said,  and  this  they  meant.  They  did 
not  mean  to  assert  the  obvious  untruth  that  all  men  were  then  actually  enjoying 
that  quality,  or  yet  that  they  were  about  to  confer  it  immediately  upon  them. 
In  fact,  they  had  no  power  to  confer  such  a  boon.  They  meant  simply  to  declare 
the  right,  so  that  the  enforcement  of  it  might  follow  as  fast  as  circumstances 
should  permit. 

They  meant  to  set  up  a  standard  maxim  for  free  society,  which  should  be 
familiar  to  all,  constantly  looked  to,  constantly  labored  for,  and  even  though 
never  perfectly  attained,  constantly  approximated,  and  thereby  constantly  spread 
ing  and  deepening  its  influence  and  augmenting  the  happiness  and  value  of  life- 
to  all  people,  of  all  colors,  everywhere. 


214  THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

There,  again,  are  the  sentiments  I  have  expressed  in  regard  to  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  upon  a  former  occasion — sentiments  which  have  been  put  in 
print  and  read  wherever  anybody  cared  to  know  what  so  humble  an  individual  as 
myself  chose  to  say  in  regard  to  it. 


MESSAGE  TO  HIS  DYING  FATHER. 
(Letter  to  his  brother-in-law,  John  Johnston,  January  12,  1851.) 

I  sincerely  hope  father  may  yet  recover  his  health;  but,  at  all  events,  tell  him 
to  remember  to  call  upon  and  confide  in  our  great  and  good  and  merciful  Maker, 
who  will  not  turn  away  from  him  in  any  extremity.  He  notes  the  fall  of  a 
sparrew,  and  numbers  the  hairs  of  our  heads;  and  he  will  not  forget  the  dying 
man  who  puts  his  trust  in  him. 

Say  to  him,  if  we  could  meet  now  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  would  not  be  more 
painful  than  pleasant;  but  that,  if  it  be  his  lot  to  go  now,  he  will  soon  have  a 
joyous  meeting  with  the  loved  ones  gone  before,  and  where  the  rest  of  us,  through 
the  help  of  God,  hope  ere  long  to  join  them. 


DISADVANTAGES  THE   REPUBLICANS  LABOR  UNDER. 

(Speech  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  July  17,  1858.) 

Senator  Douglas  is  of  world-wide  renown.  All  the  anxious  politicians  of  his 
party,  or  who  have  been  of  his  party  for  years  past,  have  been  looking  upon  him 
as  a  certainty,  at  no  distant  day,  to  be  the  president  of  the  United  States.  They 
have  seen,  in  his  round,  jolly,  fruitful  face,  post-offices,  land-offices,  marshalships 
and  cabinet  appointments,  chargeships  and  foreign  missions,  bursting  and 
sprouting  out  in  wonderful  exuberance,  ready  to  be  laid  hold  of  by  their  greedy 
hands. 

On  the  contrary,  nobody  has  ever  expected  me  to  be  president.  In  my  poor, 
lean,  lank  face  nobody  has  ever  seen  that  any  cabbages  were  sprouting  out.  These 
are  disadvantages,  all  taken  together,  that  the  Republicans  la-bor  under.  We  have 
to  fight  this  battle  upon  principle,  and  upon  principle  alone. 

I  am,  in  a  certain  sense,  made  the  standard-bearer  in  behalf  of  the  Repub 
licans.  I  was  made  so  merely  because  there  had  to  be  some  one  so  placed,  I  being 
nowise  preferable  to  any  other  one  of  the  twenty-five — perhaps  a  hundred — we 
have  in  the  Republican  ranks. 

Then,  I  say,  I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  and  borne  in  mind  that  we 
have  to  fight  this  battle  without  many — perhaps  without  any — of  the  external 
aids  which  are  brought  to  bear  against  us.  So  I  hope  those  with  whom  I  am 
surrounded  have  principle  enough  to  nerve  themselves  for  the  task,  and  leave 
nothing  undone  that  can  be  fairly  done  to  bring  about  the  right  result. 


LINCOLN'S  OFFICE  CHAIR,   TABLE   AND   SADDLE-BAGS,   WHILE   A   LAWYER. 


VIEW  OF  THE   REAR  PARLOR  OF  THE   OLD   LINCOLN  HOMESTEAD.     (From  a  recent  photograph.) 

215 


216  THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

NATURAL  RIGHTS  OF   THE   NEGRO. 

( Speech   delivered  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  September,  1859. ) 

I  have  no  purpose  to  introduce  political  and  social  equality  between  the  white 
and  the  black  races.  There  is  a  physical  difference  between  the  two  which  in  my 
judgment  will  probably  forbid  their  ever  living  together  upon  the  footing  of  per 
fect  equality,  and  inasmuch  as  it  becomes  a  necessity  that  there  must4be  a  differ 
ence,  I,  as  well  as  Judge  Douglas,  am  in  favor  of  the  race  to  which  I  belong 
having  the  superior  position. 

I  have  never  said  anything  to  the  contrary,  but  I  hold  that  notwithstanding 
all  this,  there  is  no  reason  in  the  world  why  the  negro  is  not  entitled  to  all  the 
natural  rights  enumerated  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  right  to  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

In  the  right  to  eat  the  bread — without  leave  of  anybody  else — which  his  own 
hands  earn,  he  is  my  equal,  and  the  equal  of  Judge  Douglas,  and  the  equal  of  every 
living  man. 


KINDLY   FEELING  FOR  HIS  OPPONENTS. 

(Speech  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  September,  1859,  addressed  particularly  to  Kentuckians.) 

I  will  tell  you,  so  far  as  I  am  authorized  to  speak  for  the  opposition,  what  we 
mean  to  do  with  you.  We  mean  to  treat  you,  as  near  as  we  possibly  can.  as 
Washington,  Jefferson  and  Madison  treated  you.  We  mean  to  leave  you  alone, 
and  in  no  way  to  interfere  with  your  institution;  to  abide  by  all  and  every  com 
promise  of  the  Constitution,  and,  in  a  word,  coming  back  to  the  original  prop 
osition,  to  treat  you  so  far  as  degenerated  men  (if  we  have  degenerated)  may, 
according  to  the  examples  of  those  noble  iatheis — Washington,  Jefferson  and 
Madison. 

We  mean  to  remember  that  you  are  as  good  as  we;  that  there  is  no  difference 
between  us  other  than  the  difference  of  circumstances.  We  mean  to  recc  gnize 
and  bear  in  mind  always  that  you  have  as  good  hearts  in  your  bosoms  as  other 
people,  or  as  we  claim  to  have,  and  treat  you  accordingly.  We  mean  to  marry 
your  girls  when  we  have  a  chance — the  white  ones,  I  mean — and  I  have  the  honor 
to  inform  you  that  I  once  did  have  a  chance  in  that  way. 

The  good  old  maxims  of  the  Bible  are  applicable  to  human  affairs,  and  in 
this,  as  in  other  things,  we  may  say  here  that  he  who  is  not  for  us  is  against  us; 
he  who  gathereth  not  with  us  scattereth. 

I  should  be  glad  to  have  some  of  the  many  good  and  able  and  noble  men  of 
the  South  to  place  themselves  where  we  can  confer  upon  them  the  high  honor 
of  an  election  upon  one  or  the  other  end  of  our  ticket.  It  would  do  my  soul 
good  to  do  that  thing. 

It  would  enable  us  to  teach  them  that  inasmuch  as  we  elect  one  of  their 
number  to  carry  out  our  principles,  we  are  free  from  the  charge  that  we  mean 
more  than  we  say. 


THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  217 

EXTRACTS   FROM  FIRST   INAUGURAL  ADDRESS,    MARCH  4,    1861. 

Apprehension  seems  to  exist  among  the  people  of  the  southern  states  that  bv 
the  occasion  of  a  Republican  administration  their  property  and  their  peace  and 
personal  security  are  to  be  endangered.  There  has  never  been  any  reasonable 
cause  for  such  apprehension.  Indeed,  the  most  ample  evidence  to  the  contrary 
has  all  the  while  existed,  and  been  open  to  their  inspection.  It  is  found  in 
nearly  all  the  published  speeches  of  him  who  now  addresses  you. 

I  do  but  quote  from  one  of  those  speeches,  when  I  declared  that  u  I  have  no 
purpose,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  interfere  with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the 
states  where  it  exists.11 

I  believe  I   have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so,  and  I   have  no  inclination  to  do  so. 

It  is  seventy-two  years  since  the  first  inauguration  of  a  president  under  our 
national  Constitution.  During  that  period,  fifteen  different  and  very  distin 
guished  citizens  have  in  succession  administered  the  executive  branch  of  the 
government.  They  have  conducted  it  through  many  perils,  and  generally  with 
great  success.  Yet,  with  this  scope  for  precedent,  I  now  enter  upon  the  same 
task,  for  the  brief  constitutional  term  of  four  years,  under  great  and  peculiar 
difficulties. 

[  hold  that  in  the  contemplation  of  universal  law  and  the  Constitution,  the 
union  of  these  states  is  perpetual. 

Why  should  there  not  be  a  patient  confidence  in  the  ultimate  justice  of  the 
people?  Is  there  any  better  or  equal  hope  in  the  world?  In  our  present 
differences,  is  either  party  without  faith  of  being  in  the  right?  If  the  Almighty 
Ruler  of  nations,  with  his  eternal  truth  and  justice,  be  on  your  side  of  the  North, 
or  on  your  side  of  the  South,  that  truth  and  that  justice  will  surely  prevail  by 
the  judgment  of  this  great  tribunal — the  American  people. 


VIEWS   REGARDING   A   PROTECTIVE  TARIFF. 

(Letter  to  Dr.  Edward  Wallace,  October  11,  1859.) 

I  believe  if  we  could  have  a  moderate,  carefully  adjusted  protective  tariff,  so 
far  acquiesced  in  as  not  to  be  a  perpetual  subject  of  political  strife,  squabbles, 
changes  and  uncertainties,  it  would  be  better  for  us. 


THE   HUMBLEST   OF   ALL  THE   PRESIDENTS. 

(Speech  to  the  Legislature,  Albany,  New  York,  February  18,  1861.) 

It  is  true  that  while  I  hold  myself,  without  mock  modesty,  the  humblest  of 
all  the  individuals  who  have  ever  been  elected  president  of  the  United  States.  I 
yet  have  a  more  difficult  task  to  perform  than  any  one  of  them  has  ever 
encountered. 


218  THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

FORMAL  ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  HIS  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

(Reply  to  the  president  of  the  convention,  at  the  homestead,  Springfield,  Illinois,  May  19,  I860.) 

I  tender  to  you,  and  through  you  to  the  Republican  national  convention,  and 
all  the  people  represented  in  it,  my  profoundest  thanks  for  the  high  honor  done 
me,  which  you  now  formally  announce. 

Deeply,  and  even  painfully,  sensible  of  the  great  responsibility  which  is 
inseparable  from  this  high  honor — a  responsibility  which  I  could  almost  wish  had 
fallen  upon  some  one  of:  the  far  more  eminent  men  and  experienced  statesmen 
whose  distinguished  names  were  before  the  convention,  I  shall,  by  your  leave, 
consider  more  fully  the  resolutions  of  the  convention,  denominated  the  platform, 
and,  without  any  unuecessary  or  unreasonable  delay,  respond  to  you,  Mr. 
Chairman,  in  writing,  not  doubting  that  the  platform  will  be  found  satisfactory, 
and  the  nomination  gratefully  accepted. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN'S   AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

The  following  autobiography  was  written  by  Mr.  Lincoln's  own  hand,  at  the 
request  of  J.  W.  Fell,  of  Springfield,  Illinois,  December  20,  1859.  In  the  note 
which  accompanied  it  the  writer  says: 

"Herewith  is  a  little  sketch,  as  you  requested.  There  is  not  much  of  it,  for 
the  reason,  I  suppose,  that  there  is  not  much  of  me. 

UI  was  born  February  12,  1809,  in  Hardin  county,  Kentucky.  My  parents 
were  both  born  in  Virginia,  of  undistinguished  families,  second  families,  perhaps 
I  should  say.  My  mother,  who  died  in  my  tenth  year,  was  of  a  family  of  the 
name  of  Hanks,  some  of  whom  now  reside  in  Adams  county,  and  others  in 
Mason  county,  Illinois.  My  paternal  grandfather,  Abraham  Lincoln,  emigrated 
from  Buckingham  county,  Virginia,  to  Kentucky,  about  1781  or  1782,  where,  a 
year  or  two  later,  he  was  killed  by  Indians,  not  in  battle,  but  by  stealth,  when  he 
was  laboring  to  open  a  farm  in  the  forest.  His  ancestors,  who  were  Quakers, 
went  to  Virginia  from  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania.  An  effort  to  identify  them 
with  the  New  England  family  of  the  same  name  ended  in  nothing  more  definite 
than  a  similarity  of  Christian  name^  in  both  families — such  as  Enoch,  Levi,  Mor- 
decai,  Solomon,  Abraham  and  the  like. 

"  My  father,  at  the  death  of  his  father,  was  but  six  years  of  age,  and  grew 
up  literally  without  any  education.  He  removed  from  Kentucky  to  what  is  nowr 
Spencer  county,  Indiana,  in  my  eighth  year.  We  reached  our  new  home  about 
the  time  the  state  came  into  the  Union.  It  was  a  wild  region,  with  many  bears 
and  other  wild  animals  still  in  the  woods.  There  I  grew  up.  There  were  some 
schools,  so  called,  but  no  qualification  wns  ever  required  of  a  teacher  beyond 
,4readin\  writin',  and  cipherin' '  to  the  rule  of  three.  If  a  straggler,  supposed  to 
ividerstand  Latin,  happened  to  sojourn  in  the  neighborhood,  he  was  looked  upon 
as  a  wizard.  There  was  absolutely  nothing  to  excite  ambition  for  education.  Of 


THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  219 

course,  when  I  came  of  age  I  did  not  know  much.  Still,  somehow,  I  could  read, 
write,  and  cipher  to  the. rule  of  three,  but  that  was  all.  I  have  not  been  to  school 
since.  The  little  advance  I  now  have  upon  this  store  of  education  I  have  picked 
up  from  time  to  time  under  the  pressure  of  necessity. 

"I  was  raised  to  farm  work,  at  which  I  continued  till  I  was  twenty-two.  At 
twenty-one  I  came  to  Illinois,  and  passed  the  first  year  in  Macon  county.  Then 
I  got  to  New  Salem,  at  that  time  in  Sangamon,  now  in  Menard  county,  \vht  re 
I  remained  a  year  as  a  sort  of  clerk  in  a  store.  Then  came  the  Black  Hawk  war, 
and  I  was  elected  a  captain  of  volunteers — a  success  which  gave  me  more  pleasure 
than  any  I  have  had  since.  I  went  into  the  campaign,  was  elected,  ran  for  the 
Legislature  the  same  year  (1832),  and  was  beaten — the  only  time  I  have  ever  be<  n 
beaten  by  the  people.  The  next  and  three  succeeding  biennial  elections  I  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature.  I  was  not  a  candidate  afterward.  During  the  legis 
lative  period  I  had  studied  law,  and  removed  to  Springfield  to  practise  it.  In 
1846,  I  was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  Congress.  Was  not  a  candidate  for 
re-election.  From  1849  to  1854,  both  inclusive,  practised  law  more  assiduously 
than  ever  before.  Always  a  Whig  in  politics,  and  generally  on  the  Whig  elec 
toral  ticket,  making  active  canvasses.  I  was  losing  interest  in  politics,  when  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  aroused  me  again.  What  I  have  done  since 
then  is  pretty  well  known. 

"If  any  personal  description  of  me  is  thought  desirable,  it  may  be  said  I  am  in 
height  six  feet  four  inches,  nearly;  lean  in  flesh,  weighing,  on  an  average,  one 
hundred  and  eighty  pounds;  dark  complexion,  with  coarse  black  hair  and  gray 
eyes — no  other  marks  or  brands  recollected." 


WOULD  NOT  BUY  THE  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

To  a  party  who  wished  to  be  empowered  to  negotiate  reward  for  promises  of 
influence  in  the  Chicago  convention,  1860,  Mr.  Lincoln  replied: 

"No,  gentlemen;  I  h.ive  not  asked  the  nomination,  and  I  will  not  now  buy  it 
with  pledges.  If  I  am  nominated  and  elected,  I  shall  not  go  into  the  presidency 
as  the  tool  of  this  man  or  that  man,  or  as  the  property  of  any  factor  or  clique." 


THE   PLEDGE  WITH   COLD   WATER. 

(Remarks  to  the  committee  that  notified  him,  at  his  home,  May,  1860,  of  his  nomiiiatiou.) 

Gentlemen,  we  must  pledge  our  mutual  health  in  this  most  healthy  beverage 
which  God  has  given  man.  It  is  the  only  beverage  I  have  ever  used  or  allowed 
in  my  family.,  and  I  cannot  conscientiously  depart  from  it  on  the  present  occasion. 
It  is  pure  Adam's  ale  from  the  well. 


The  above  is  a  picture  of  the  tools  and  the  men  who  broke  into  the  Lincoln  monument  on 
the  night  of  November  7,  1876.  They  succeeded  in  getting  the  lead  casket  containing  Lincoln's 
body  out  of  the  sarcophagus,  and  while  waiting  for  a  wagon  to  come  and  haul  the  bodv  away 
they  were  frightened  away  by  the  officers,  who  had  notice  that  an  attempt  would  be  made  to 
steal  the  body  that  night. 


LINCOLN'S  HORSE. 


™  This  horse  was  ridden  and  driven  by  Mr.  Lincoln  for  seven  years.  Just  before  he  left  for 
Washington,  1861,  he  sold  him  for  $75.  The  horse  was  traded  around,  and  was  finally  purchased 
by  a  drayman.  When  the  news  of  the  assassination  of  the  president  came,  the  man  011  the 
right  went  immediately  and  purchased  the  horse  from  the  drayman  for  $75.  He  put  him  on 

exhl  -oV^A  alld  ^e  *&*  da£  took  in  880'  and  before  the  horse  died,  the  man  is  said  to  have  made 
over  $25,000  showing  him  about  the  country. 

220 


O».  ,HTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

DEFENDS   THE   SECRETARY   OF   WAR. 

(Remarks  at  a  war  meeting,  Washington,  August  6,  1862.) 

General  McClellan  has  sometimes  asked  for  things  that  the  secretary  of  war 
did  not  give  him.  General  McClellan  is  not  to  blame  for  asking  what  he  wanted 
and  needed,  and  the  secretary  of  war  is  not  to  blame  for  not  giving  when  he  had 
none  to  give.  And  I  say  here,  as  far  as  I  know,  the  secretary  of  war  has  with 
held  no  one  thing  at  any  time  in  my  power  to  give  him.  I  have  no  accusation 
against  him.  I  believe  he  is  a  brave  and  able  mnn,  and  I  stand  here,  as  justice 
requires  me  to  do,  to  take  upon  myself  what  ha>  been  charged  on  the  secretary 
of  war,  as  withholding  from  him. 


"ALL  HONOR  TO  JEFFERSON." 

(Letter,  April  6,  1861.) 

All  honor  to  Jefferson;  to  a  man  who,  in  the  concrete  pressure  of  a  struggle 
for  national  independence  by  a  single  people,  had  the  coolness,  forecast  and 
capacity  to  introduce  into  n  merely  revolutionary  document  an  abstract  truth, 
applicable  to  all  men  and  all  times,  and  so  to  embalm  it  there  that  to-day  and  in 
all  coming  days  it  shall  be  a  rebuke  and  a  stumbling-block  to  the  harbingers  of 
reappearing  tyranny  and  oppression! 


HIS    "EARLY  HISTORY." 

(Reply  to  a  gentleman  who  asked  for  a  sketch  of  his  life.) 

My  early  history  is  perfectly  characterized  by  a  single  line  of  Gray's  "Elegy," 
The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor. 


"WE   SHALL   TRY   TO  DO  OUR  DUTY." 

(Speech  at  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  spring  of  1860.) 

If  we  shall  constitutionally  elect  a  president,  it  will  be  our  duty  to  see  that 
you  also  submit.  Old  John  Brown  has  been  executed  for  treason  against  a  state. 
We  cannot  object,  even  though  he  agreed  with  us  in  thinking  slavery  wrong. 
That  cannot  excuse  violence,  bloodshed  and  treason.  It  could  avail  him  nothing 
that  he  might  think  himself  right.  So,  if  we  constitutionally  elect  a  president, 
and,  therefore,  you  undertake  to  destroy  the  Union,  it  will  be  our  duty  to  deal 
with  you  as  old  John  Brown  has  been  dealt  with.  We  shall  try  to  do  our  duty. 
We  hope  and  believe  that  in  no  section  will  a  majority  so  act  as  to  render  such 
extreme  measure  necessary. 


222  THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

"ALL  AMERICAN   CITIZENS  ARE  BROTHERS." 

(Rejoicing  over  the  November  election,  Springfield,  Illinois,  November  20,  1860,  at  a  political 

meeting.) 

1  rejoice  with  you  in  the  success  which  has  so  far  attended  the  Republican 
cause,  yet  in  all  our  rejoicing  let  us  neither  express  nor  cherish  any  hard  feelings 
toward  any  citizen  who  by  his  vote  differed  with  us.  Let  us  at  all  times  remember 
that  all  American  citizens  are  brothers  of  a  common  country,  and  should  dwell 
together  in  the  bonds  of  fraternal  feeling. 


LABOR   THE  SUPERIOR  OF  CAPITAL. 

(Message  to  Congress,  Decembers,  1861.) 

Labor  is  prior  to  and  independent  of  capital.  Capital  is  only  the  fruit  of 
labor,  and  could  never  have  existed  if  labor  had  not  first  existed.  Labor  is  the 
superior  of  capital,  and  deserves  much  the  higher  consideration.  Capital  has  its 
rights,  which  are  as  worthy  of  protection  as  any  rights,  nor  is  it  denied  that 
there  is,  and  probably  always  will  be,  a  relation  between  labor  and  capital,  pro 
ducing  mutual  benefits. 


"LET  US  HAVE  FAITH  THAT  RIGHT  MAKES  MIGHT." 

(Speech  at  Cooper  Institute,  February  27,  1860.) 

I  defy  any  one  to  show  that  any  living  man  in  the  whole  world  ever  did,  prior 
to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  (and  I  might  almost  say  prior  to  the 
beginning  of  the  last  half  of  the  present  century),  declare  that,  in  his  under 
standing,  any  proper  division  of  local  from  Federal  authority,  or  any  part  of  the 
Constitution,  forbade  the  Federal  government  to  control  as  to  slavery  in  the 
Federal  territories. 

To  those  who  now  so  declare,  I  give,  not  only  "our  fathers  who  framed  the 
government  under  which  we  live,"  but  with  them  all  other  living  men  within 
the  century  in  which  it  was  framed,  among  whom  to  search,  and  they  shall  not 
be  able  to  find  the  evidence  of  a  single  man  agreeing  with  them. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  we  are  bound  to  follow  implicitly  in  whatever  our 
fathers  did.  To  do  so  would  be  to  discard  all  the  lights  of  current  experience,  to 
reject  all  progress,  all  improvement.  What  I  do  say  is  that  if  we  could  sup 
plant  the  opinions  and  policy  of  our  fathers  in  any  case,  we  should  do  so  upon 
evidence  so  conclusive,  and  argument  so  clear,  that  even  their  authority,  fairly 
considered  and  weighed,  cannot  stand;  and  most  surely  not  in  a  case  whereof  we 
ourselves  declare  they  understood  the  question  better  than  we. 

Let  all  who  believe  that  "our  fathers  who  framed  the  government  under 
which  we  live"  understood  this  question  just  as  well,  and  even  better  than  we 
do  now,  speak  as  they  spoke,  and  act  as  they  acted  upon  it. 


THOUGHTS    AND   SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  22o 

It  is  exceedingly  desirable  that  all  parts  of  this  great  confederacy  shall  be  at 
peace  and  in  harmony  one  with  another.  Let  us  Republicans  do  our  part  to 
have  it  so.  Even  though  much  provoked,  let  us  do  nothing  through  passion  and 
ill-temper. 

Even  though  the  southern  people  will  not  so  much  as  listen  to  us,  let  us 
calmly  consider  their  demands,  and  yield  to  them,  if  in  our  deliberate  view  of 
our  duty  we  possibly  can.  Judging  by  all  they  say  and  do,  and  by  the  subject 
and  nature  of  their  controversy  with  us,  let  us  determine,  if  we  can,  what  will 
satisfy  them. 

Wrong  as  we  think  slavery  is,  we  can  yet  afford  to  let  it  alone  where  it  is, 
because  that  much  is  due  to  the  necessity  arising  from  iis  actual  presence  in  the 
nation.  But  can  we,  while  our  votes  will  prevent  it,  allow  it  to  spread  into  the 
national  territories,  and  to  overrun  us  here  in  these  free  states? 

If  our  sense  of  duty  forbids  this,  then  let  us  stand  by  our  duty,  fearlessly  and 
effectively.  Let  us  be  diverted  by  none  of  those  sophistical  contrivances  where 
with  we  are  so  industriously  plied  and  belabored — contrivances  such  as  groping 
for  some  middle  ground  between  the  right  and  the  wrong,  vain  as  the  search  for 
a  man  who  should  be  neither  a  living  man  nor  a  dead  man;  such  as  a  policy  of 
" don't  care1'  on  a  question  about  which  all  true  men  do  care;  such  as  Union 
appeals  beseeching  true  Union  men  to  yield  to  disunionists,  reversing  the  divine 
rule,  and  calling,  not  the  sinners,  but  the  righteous  to  repentance;  such  as  invo 
cations  to  Washington  imploring  men  to  unsay  what  Washington  said,  and  to 
undo  what  Washington  did. 

Let  us  have  faith  that  right  makes  might,  and  in  that  faith  let  us,  to  the 
end,  dare  to  do  our  duty  as  we  understand  it. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT  TO  GENERAL  GRANT. 

(Letter  to  General  Grant,  July  13,  1863.) 

I  do  not  remember  that  you  and  I  ever  met  personally.  I  write  this  now  as 
a  grateful  acknowledgment  for  the  almost  inestimable  service  you  have  done  the 
country. 

I  write  to  say  a  word  further.  When  you  first  reached  the  vicinity  of  Vicks- 
burg,  I  thought  you  should  do  what  you  finally  did — march  the  troops  across  the 
neck,  run  the  batteries  with  the  transports,  and  thus  go  below;  and  I  never  had 
any  faith,  except  a  general  hope,  that  you  knew  better  than  I,  that  the  Yazoo 
Pass  expedition,  and  the  like,  could  succeed.  When  you  got  below  and  took 
Port  Gibson,  Grand  Gulf  and  vicinity,  I  thought  you  should  go  down  the  river 
and  join  General  Banks;  and  when  you  turned  northward,  east  of  Big  Black,  I 
feared  it  was  a  mistake. 

I  now  wish  to  make  the  personal  acknowledgment  that  you  were  right  and  I 
was  wrong. 


224  THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

"AS  LIKELY  TO   CAPTURE  THE   '  MAN   IN   THE  MOON.'  » 
(Dispatch  to  General  Thomas,  at  Harrisburg,   Pennsylvania,   July  8,   1863.) 

Forces 'now  beyond  Carlisle  to  be  joined  by  regiments  still  at  Harrisburg,  and 
the  united  force  again  to  join  Pierce  somewhere,  and  the  whole  to  move  down  the 
Cumberland  valley,  will,  in  my  unprofessional  opinion,  be  quite  as  likely  to 
capture  the  uman  in  the  moon1'  as  any  part  of  Lee's  army. 


"BEWARE  OF  RASHNESS." 

(To  General  Hooker,  in  giving  him  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.) 

And  now,  beware   of   rashness,  beware   of    rashness,  but,  with  energy  and 
sleepless  vigilance,  go  forward  and  give  us  victories. 


READING  THE  EMANCIPATION   PROCLAMATION  TO  HIS  CABINET. 

(Remarks  at  the  meeting,  September  22,  1862.) 

Gentlemen,  I  have,  as  you  are  aware,  thought  a  great  deal  about  the  relation 
of  this  war  to  slavery,  and  you  all  remember  that  several  weeks  ago  I  read  to 
you  an  order  that  I  had  prepared  upon  the  subject,  which,  on  account  of  objec 
tions  made  by  some  of  you,  was  not  issued.  Ever  since  then  my  mind  has  been 
much  occupied  with  this  subject,  and  I  have  thought  all  along  that  the  time  for 
acting  on  it  might  probably  come. 

I  have  got  you  together  to  hear  what  I  have  written  down.  I  do  not  wish 
your  advice  about  the  main  matter,  for  that  I  have  determined  for  myself.  This 
I  say  without  intending  anything  but  respect  for  any  one  of  you.  But  I  already 
know  the  views  of  each  on  this  question.  They  have  been  heretofore  expressed, 
and  T  have  considered  them  as  thoroughly  and  carefully  as  I  can.  What  I  have 
written  is  that  which  my  reflections  have  determined  me  to  say.  If  there  is  any 
thing  in  the  expressions  I  use.  or  in  any  minor  matter,  which  any  one  of  you 
think  had  best  be  changed,  I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  your  suggestions. 

One  other  observation  I  will  make.  I  know  very  well  that  many  others 
might,  in  this  matter  as  in  others,  do  better  than  I  cnn;  and  if  I  was  satisfied 
that  the  public  confidence  was  more  fully  possessed  by  any  one  of  them  than  by 
me,  and  knew  of  any  constitutional  way  in  which  he  could  be  put  in  my  place, 
he  should  have  it.  I  would  gladly  yield  to  him.  But  though  I  believe  I  have 
not  so  much  of  the  confidence  of  the  people  as  I  had  some  time  since,  I  do  not 
know  that,  all  things  considered,  any  other  person  has  more;  and,  however  this 
may  be,  there  is  no  way  in  which  I  can  have  any  other  man  put  where  I  am.  I 
am  here;  I  must  do  the  best  I  can,  and  bear  the  responsibility  of  taking  the 
course  which  I  feel  I  ought  to  take. 


INTERIOR  OF  MEMORIAL   HALL.    (Lincoln  Monument,  Springfield,  111.) 

Some  of  the  most  interesting  objects  are  arranged  in  the  foreground.  On  the  left  is  seen  a 
bust  of  the  martyred  president,  and  a  cast  of  the  hand  that  wrote  the  Emancipation  Proclama 
tion.  On  the  right  is  a  stone  taken  from  a  fragment  of  a  wall  built  about  twenty-four  hundred 
years  ago,  during  the  reign  of  Servius  Tullius,  its  sixth  king,  around  the  city  of  Rome,  Italy. 
The  inscription  on  it  reads:  "To  Abraham  Lincoln,  president  for  the  second  time  of  the 
American  republic,  citizens  of  Rome  present  this  stone,  from  the  wall  of  Servius  Tullius,  by 
which  the  memory  of  each  of  those  brave  asserters  of  liberty  may  be  associated.  Anno,  IN>~>." 
The  old  chair  in  front  of  the  column  contains  a  seat  of  hickory  bark,  put  in  by  Mr.  Lincoln  in 
1834.  The  surveying  instruments  were  owned  and  used  by  him  from  1832  until  1837.  The 
powder-horn  was  worn  by  his  grandfather,  Abraham  Lincoln,  as  a  Revolutionary  soldier  from 
Virginia.  He  was  killed  by  an  Indian  while  wearing  it,  in  Kentucky,  in  1782.  The  framed 
pieces  hanging  about  the  marble  walls  are  chiefly  made  up  from  about  one  thousand  such  sent 
to  Mrs.  Lincoln  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  and  contain  expressions  of  sympathy  and 
condolence. 


225 


226  THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

OBSERVANCE  OF  THE  SABBATH  DAY  IN  THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY. 

(General  Orders,  November  15,  1862.) 

The  importance  for  man  and  beast  of  the  prescribed  weekly  rest,  the  sacred 
rights  of  Christian  soldiers  and  sailors,  a  becoming  deference  to  the  best  senti 
ments  of  a  Christian  people,  and  a  due  regard  for  the  divine  will,  demand  that 
Sunday  labor  in  the  army  and  navy  be  reduced  to  the  measure  of  strict  necessity. 

The  discipline  and  character  of  the  national  forces  should  not  suffer,  nor  the 
cause  they  defend  be  imperiled,  by  the  profanation  of  the  day  or  name  of  the 
Most  High.  "At  this  time  of  public  distress" — adopting  the  words  of  Wash 
ington  in  1776—"  men  may  find  enough  to  do  in  the  service  of  God  and  their 
country  without  abandoning  themselves  to  vice  and  immorality." 

The  first  general  order  issued  by  the  father  of  his  country  after  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence  indicates  the  spirit  in  which  our  institutions  were  founded 
and  should  ever  be  defended: 

"  The  general  hopes  and  trusts  that  every  officer  and  man  will  endeavor  to 
live  and  act  as  becomes  a  Christian  soldier  defending  the  dearest  rights  and  liberties 
of  his  country!' 


"PRESERVE  THE  UNION  AND  LIBERTY." 

(In  response  to  an  addressof  welcomebyGovernorO.P.  Morton,  Indianapolis,  February  11, 1861.) 

In  all  trying  positions  in  which  I  shall  be  placed,  and,  doubtless,  I  shall  be 
placed  in  many  such,  my  reliince  will  be  placed  upon  you  and  the  people  of  the 
United  States;  and  I  wish  you  to  remember,  now  and  forever,  that  it  is  your 
business,  and  not  mine,  that  if  the  union  of  these  states  and  the  liberties  of  this 
people  shall  be  lost,  it  is  but  little  to  any  one  man  of  fifty-two  years  of  age,  but  a 
great  deal  to  the  thirty  millions  of  people  who  inhabit  these  United  States,  and 
to  their  posterity  in  all  coming  time. 

It  is  your  business  to  rise  up  and  preserve  the  Union  and  liberty  for  yourselves, 
and  not  for  me. 


ANNOUNCES  HIMSELF  AS  A  CANDIDATE. 

(Letter  to  the  Sangamon  Journal,  Springfield,  Illinois,  June  13,  1836.) 

I  go  for  all  sharing  the  privileges  of  the  government  who  assist  in  bearing  its 
burdens,  consequently  I  go  for  admitting  all  whites  to  the  right  of  suffrage  who 
pay  taxes  or  bear  arms  (by  no  means  excluding  females). 

While  acting  as  their  representative  I  shall  be  governed  by  their  will  on  all 
subjects  upon  which  I  have  the  means  of  knowing  what  their  will  is;  and  upon 
all  others  I  shall  do  what  my  own  judgment  teaches  me  will  best  advance  their 
interests,  whether  elected  or  not. 


THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  227 

STORY-TELLING  WAS  A  RELIEF. 

(To  a  congressman  who  objected  to  the  president  telling  a  story  when  he  had  important  business 

to  present.) 

You  cannot  be  more  anxious  than  I  am  constantly;  ami  I  say  to  you  now, 
that  if  it  were  not  for  this  occasional  vent,  I  should  die. 


WOULD  LEAVE  IT  TO  THE  WORLD  UNERASED. 

When  Dr.  Long  said  to  his  friend,  "  Well,  Lincoln,  that  foolish  speech  will  kill 
you — will  defeat  you  for  all  offices  for  all  time  to  come,1'  referring  to  the  "House 
Divided1'  speech,  Mr.  Lincoln  replied: 

ulf  I  had  to  draw  a  pen  across  and  erase  my  whole  life  from  existence,  and  I 
had  one  poor  gift  or  choice  left,  as  to  what  I  should  save  from  the  wreck,  I  should 
choose  that  speech,  and  leave  it  to  the  world  unerased.11 


LETTER,    OCTOBER  8,    1862. 

I  sincerely  wish  war  was  an  easier  and  pleasanter  business  than  it  is,  but  it 
does  not  admit  of  holidays. 


"MY  PARAMOUNT  OBJECT  IS  TO  SAVE  THE  UNION." 

(Reply  to  an  editorial  of  complaint  in  the  New  York  Tribune,  bv  Horace  Greeley, 

August  19,  1862.) 

My  paramount  object  is  to  save  the  Union,  and  not  either  to  save  or  to  destroy 
slavery.  If  I  could  save  the  Union  without  freeing  any  slave,  I  would  do  it.  If 
I  could  save  it  by  freeing  all  the  slaves,  I  would  do  it;  and  if  I  could  do  it  by 
freeing  some  and  leaving  others  alone,  I  would  also  do  that.  What  I  do  about 
slavery  and  the  colored  race,  I  do  because  I  believe  it  helps  to  save  this  Union; 
and  what  I  forbear,  I  forbear  because  I  do  not  believe  it  would  help  to  save  the 
Union.  I  shall  do  less  whenever  I  shall  believe  what  I  am  doing  hurts  the  cause, 
and  I  shall  do  more  whenever  I  believe  doing  more  will  help  the  cause. 


HIS  VOW  BEFORE   GOD. 

(Remarks  to  Secretary   Salmon   P.  Chase.) 

I  made  a  solemn  vow  before  God  that  if  General  Lee  was  driven  back  from 
Pennsylvania  I  would  crown  the  result  by  the  declaration  of  freedom  to  the 
slaves. 


228  THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

GOD  BLESS  THE  WOMEN   OF  AMERICA. 

(Speech  at  a  ladies'  fair  for  the  benefit  of  the  soldiers,  Washington,  March  16,  1864.) 

I  appear  to  say  but  a  word.  This  extraordinary  war  in  which  we  are  engaged 
falls  heavily  upon  all  classes  of  people,  but  the  most  heavily  upon  the  soldiers. 
For  it  has  been  said,  UA11  that  a  man  hath  will  he  give  for  his  life,"  and,  while  all 
contribute  of  their  substance,  the  soldier  puts  his  life  at  stake,  and  often  yields 
it  up  in  his  country's  cause.  The  highest  merit,  then,  is  due  the  soldiers. 

In  this  extraordinary  war  extraordinary  developments  have  manifested  them 
selves  such  as  have  not  been  seen  in  former  wars;  and  among  these  manifes 
tations  nothing  has  been  more  remarkable  than  these  fairs  for  the  relief  of 
suffering  soldiers  and  their  families,  and  the  chief  agents  in  .these  fairs  are  the 
women  of  America! 

I  arn  not  accustomed  to  the  use  of  language  of  eulogy;  I  have  never  studied 
the  art  of  paying  compliments  to  women;  but  I  must  say  that  if  all  that  has 
been  said  by  orators  and  poets  since  the  creation  of  the  world  in  praise  of  women 
were  applied  to  the  women  of  America,  it  would  not  do  them  justice  for  their 
conduct  during  the  war. 

I  will  close  by  saying,  God  bless  the  women  of  America! 


"NOT  ONE  WORD  OF  IT  WILL  I  EVER  RECALL." 

(Remarks  to  some  friends  concerning  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  New-Year's  evening, 

1863.) 

The  signature  looks  a  little  tremulous,  for  my  hand  was  tired,  but  my  res 
olution  was  firm. 

I  told  them  in  September,  if  they  did  not  return  to  their  allegiance,  and  cease 
murdering  our  soldiers,  I  would  strike  at  this  pillar  of  their  strength.  And  now 
the  promise  shall  be  kept,  and  not  one  word  of  it  will  I  ever  recall. 


LAST  VISIT  TO   HIS  LAW-OFFICE. 

(Conversation  with  his  law  partner,  William  H.  Herndon,  before  leaving  for  Washington,  1861.) 

I  love  the  people  here,  Billy,  and  owe  them  all  that  I  arn.     If  God  spares  my 
life  to  the  end,  I  shall  come  back  among  you  and  spend  the  remnant  of  my  days. 


WOULD  WILLINGLY   EXCHANGE  PLACES  WITH   THE   SOLDIER. 
(To  Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax,  upon  receiving  bad  news  from  the  army.) 

How  willingly  would  I  exchange  places  to-day  with  the  soldier  who  sleeps  on 
the  ground  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac! 


THOUGHTS    AND   SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  229 

IX   DISPENSING  PATRONAGE    THE    DISABLED    SOLDIER    TO   HAVE  THE 

PREFERENCE. 

(Letter  to  the  postmaster-general,  July  27,  1863.) 

Yesterday  little  indorsements  of  mine  went  to  you  in  two  cases  of  post- 
masterships,  sought  for  widows  whose  husbands  have  fallen  in  the  battles  of  this 
war.  These  cases,  occurring  on  the  same  day,  brought  me  to  reflect  more  attentively 
than  what  I  had  before  done  as  to  what  is  fairly  due  from  us  here  in  the  dispen 
sing  of  patronage  toward  the  men  who,  by  fighting  our  battles,  bear  the  chief 
burden  of  saving  our  country. 

My  conclusion  is  that,  other  claims  and  qualifications  being  equal,  they  have 
the  right,  and  this  is  especially  applicable  to  the  disabled  soldier  and  the  deceased 
soldier's  family. 


PARDON  FOR  A  DESERTER. 

(Remarks  to  Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax,  who  asked  for  a  respite.) 

Some  of  our  generals  complain  that  I  impair  discipline  and  subordination  in 
the  army  by  my  pardons  and  respites,  but  it  makes  me  rested,  after  a  day's  hard 
work,  if  I  can  find  some  good  excuse  for  saving  a  man's  life;  and  I  go  to  bed 
happy  as  I  think  how  joyous  the  signing  of  my  name  makes  him  and  his  family. 


"ALREADY  TOO   MANY  WEEPING  WIDOWS." 

(Reply  to  a  general  who  insisted  on  the  president  signing  the  warrants  for  the  execution  of 

twenty-four  deserters.) 

There  are  already  too  many  weeping  widows  in  the  United  States.     For  God's 
sake,  don't  ask  me  to  add  to  the  number,  for  I  won't  do  it. 


DISPATCH  TO  GENERAL    BURNSIDE   AT  CINCINNATI,   JULY  27,   1863. 

General  Grant  is  a  copious  worker  and  fighter,  but  a  meager  writer  or  teleg 
rapher. 

A  PRESENTIMENT. 
(Remarks  to  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe.) 

Whichever  way  it  ends,  I  have  the  impression  that  I  shall  not  last  long  after 
it  is  over. 

REPLY  TO  A  PLEA  FOR  THE   LIFE   OF  A  SOLDIER. 

Well,  I  think  the  boy  can  do  us  more  good  above  the  ground  than  under  it. 


LINCOLN   MONUMENT,   SPRINGFIELD,   ILLINOIS. 

(See  description  on  opposite  page.) 


230 


LINCOLN   MONUMENT,  SPRINGFIELD,  ILLINOIS. 

(See  another  view  on  page  194.) 

This  view  is  from  a  point  a  little  east  of  north  from  the  monument,  and  across  a  ravine 
running  west  through  Oak  Ridge  cemetery.  The  vault  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff  is  the  receiving- 
tomb  for  the  cemetery.  Mr.  Lincoln's  remains  were  deposited  in  that  vault  May  4,  1865.  A 
flight  of  iron  steps,  commencing  about  fifty  yards  east  of  the  vault,  ascends  in  a  curved  line  to 
the  monument,  an  elevation  of  more  than  fifty  feet.  The  door  seen  in  the  picture  of  the 
monument  is  the  entrance  to  the  catacomb.  That  is  where  the  thieves  entered  on  the  night  of 
November  7,  1870,  when  they  tried  to  steal  the  remains  of  President  Lincoln. 

Excavation  for  this  monument  commenced  September  9,  1869.  It  is  built  of  granite,  from 
quarries  at  Biddet'ord,  Maine.  The  rough  ashlers  were  shipped  to  Quincy,  Massachusetts, 
where  they  were  dressed  to  perfect  ashlers  and  numbered,  thence  shipped  by  railroad  to 
Springfield.  It  is  72K  feet  from  east  to  west,  119>£  feet  from  north  to  south,  and  100  feet  high. 
The  total  cost  is  about  $230,000,  to  May  1,  1888.  All  the  statuary  is  orange-colored  bronze.  The 
whole  monument  was  designed  by  Larkin  G.  Mead;  the  statuary  was  modeled  in  plaster  by 
him  in  Florence,  Italy,  and  cast  by  the  Ames  Manufacturing  Company,  of  Chicopee,  Massachu 
setts.  The  statue  of  Lincoln  and  Coat  of  Arms  were  first  placed  on  the  monument;  the  statue 
was  unveiled  and  the  monument  dedicated  October  15,  1874.  The  Infantry  and  Naval  Groups 
were  put  on  in  September,  1877,  the  Artillery  Group,  April  13,  1882,  and  the  Cavalry  Group, 
March  13,  1883. 

The  principal  front  of  the  monument  is  on  the  south  side,  the  statue  of  Lincoln  being  on 
that  side  of  the  obelisk,  over  Memorial  Hall.  Presuming  that  the  reader  will,  in  imagination, 
ascend  with  me  one  of  the  four  flights  of  steps  leading  to  the  terrace,  and,  beginning  at  the 
southeast  corner,  we  will  study  for  a  short  time  the  Cavalry  Group,  move  along  to  the  northeast 
corner  and  study  the  Naval  Group,  at  the  northwest  corner  the  Artillery  Group,  and  at  the 
southwest  corner  the  Infantry  Group.  On  the  east  side  are  three  tablets,  upon  which  are  the 
letters  U.  S.  A.  To  the  right  of  that,  and  beginning  with  Virginia,  we  find  the  abbreviations  of 
the  original  thirteen  states  in  the  order  they  were  settled  as  colonies,  ending  with  Georgia. 
Next  comes  Vermont,  the  first  state  admitted  after  the  Union  was  perfected,  the  states  fol 
lowing  in  the  order  they  were  admitted,  ending  with  Nebraska  on  the  east,  thus  forming  the 
cordon  of  thirty-seven  states,  composing  the  United  States  of  America  when  the  monument 
was  erected.  There  have  been  eight  new  states  admitted  since  the  monument  was  built,  thus 
beginning  a  new  century  of  states,  with  Colorado  under  Virginia,  continuing  around  with  North 
and  South  Dakota,  Montana,  Washington,  Idaho,  Wyoming  and  Utah. 

We  will  now  take  a  position  on  the  terrace  immediately  over  the  door  leading  to  Memorial 
Hall.  We  are  in  the  presence  of  the  grandest  and  most  imposing  object-lessons  of  patriotism 
ever  expressed  by  inert  matter.  The  statue  of  President  Lincoln,  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  and  navy,  takes  its  position  over  all.  The  Infantry  is  assigned  to  the  post  of  honor,  the 
advance  on  the  right.  The  Cavalry,  second  in  honor  and  efficiency,  takes  the  advance  on  the 
left.  The  Artillery  is  placed  in  the  rear  on  the  right.  The  Navy,  in  the  rear  on  the  left,  acts 
independently  or  co-operates  with  all,  as  the  good  of  the  service  and  the  wisdom  of  the 
commander-in-chief  dictates.  Let  us  give  the  combination  a  brief  study,  beginning  with  the 
Coat  of  Arms,  which  we  see  is  modified  by  the  olive  branch  of  peace,  President  Lincoln  having 
tendered  the  same  to  the  southern  people,  with  whom  he  plead  in  the  most  pathetic  terms,  in 
his  first  inaugural  address,  not  to  begin  the  war.  The  response,  all  the  world  knows,  was  the 
bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  thus  trampling  the  olive  branch  under  foot,  leaving  no  alterna 
tive  to  the  nation  but  cruel,  bloody  war,  which  raged  until  the  government,  represented  by  the 
American  eagle  in  the  Coat  of  Arms,  severed  the  chains  of  slavery.  In  a  larger  sense,  the 
artist  says  that  the  president,  standing  above  the  Coat  of  Arms,  treats  it  as  a  pedestal,  emble 
matic  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  with  the  Infantry,  Cavalry,  Artillery  and 
Navy  marshaled  around  him,  wields  all  for  holding  the  states  together  in  a  perpetual  bond  of 
union,  without  which  he  could  never  hope  to  effect  the  great  enemy  of  human  freedom.  The 
grand  climax  is  indicated  by  President  Lincoln,  with  his  left  hand  holding  out  as  a  golden 
scepter  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  while  in  his  right  he  holds  the  pen  with  which  he  has 
just  written  it.  The  right  hand  is  resting  on  another  badge  of  authority,  the  American  flag, 
thrown  over  the  fasces.  At  the  foot  of  the  fasces  lies  a  wreath  of  laurel,  with  which  to  crown 
the  president  as  the  victor  over  slavery  and  rebellion. 


231 


232  THOUGHTS   AND   SAYINGS   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

REMARKS  TO  NEGROES  IN   THE  STREETS  OF   RICHMOND. 

The  president  walked  through  the  streets  of  Richmond — without  a  guard 
except  a  few  seamen — in  company  with  his  son  u  Tad,"  and  Admiral  Porter,  on 
April  4,  1865,  the  day  following  the  evacuation  of  the  city.  Colored  people 
gathered  about  him  on  every  side,  eager  to  see  and  thank  their  liberator. 
Mr.  Lincoln  addressed  the  following  remarks  to  one  of  these  gatherings: 

"  My  poor  friends,  you  are  free — free  as  air.  You  can  cast  off  the  name  of 
slave  and  trample  upon  it;  it  will  come  to  you  no  more.  Liberty  is  your  birth 
right.  God  gave  it  to  you  as  he  gave  it  to  others,  and  it  is  a  sin  that  you  have 
been  deprived  of  it  for  so  many  years. 

"But  you  must  try  to  deserve  this  priceless  boon.  Let  the  world  see  that  you 
merit  it,  and  are  able  to  maintain  it  by  your  good  works.  Don't  let  your  joy 
carry  you  into  excesses;  learn  the  laws,  and  obey  them.  Obey  God's  command 
ments,  and  thank  him  for  giving  you  liberty,  for  to  him  you  owe  all  things. 
There,  now,  let  me  pass  on;  I  have  but  little  time  to  spare.  I  want  to  see  the 
Capitol,  and  must  return  at  once  to  Washington  to  secure  to  you  that  liberty 
which  you  seem  to  prize  so  highly." 


"WITH  MALICE  TOWARD  NONE,  WITH  CHARITY  FOR  ALL." 

(Second  inaugural  address,  March  4,  1865.) 

Fellow-countrymen,  at  this  second  appearing  to  take  the  oath  of  the  pres 
idential  office,  there  is  less  occasion  for  an  extended  address  than  there  was  at  the 
first.  Then  a  statement,  somewhat  in  detail,  of  a  course  to  be  pursued  seemed 
fitting  and  proper.  Now,  at  the  expiration  of  four  years,  during  which  public 
declarations  have  been  constantly  called  forth  on  every  point  and  phase  of  the 
great  contest  which  still  absorbs  the  attention  and  engrosses  the  energies  of  the 
nation,  little  that  is  new  could  be  presented. 

The  progress  of  our  arms,  upon  which  all  else  chiefly  depends,  is  as  well 
known  to  the  public  as*  to  myself,  and  it  is,  I  trust,  reasonably  satisfactory  and 
encouraging  to  all.  With  high  hope  for  the  future,  no  prediction  in  regard  to  it 
is  ventured. 

On  the  occasion  corresponding  to  this,  four  years  ago,  all  thoughts  were 
anxiously  directed  to  an  impending  civil  war.  All  dreaded  it;  all  sought  to  avert 
it.  While  the  inaugural  address  was  being  delivered  from  this  place,  devoted 
altogether  to  saving  the  Union  without  war,  insurgents1  agents  were  in  the  city 
seeking  to  destroy  it  without  war — seeking  to  dissolve  the  Union  and  divide  its 
effects  by  negotiation. 

Both  parties  deprecated  war;  but  one  of  them  would  make  war  rather  than 
let  the  nation  survive,  and  the  other  would  accept  war  rather  than  let  it  perish. 
And  the  war  came. 

The  prayer  of  both  could  not  be  answered — those  of  neither  have  not  been 
answered  fully.  The  Almighty  has  his  own  purposes.  "  Woe  unto  the  world 


THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  233 

because  of  offenses!  for  it  must  needs  be  that  offenses  come;  but  woe  to  that  man 
by  whom  the  offense  cometh." 

If  we  shall  suppose  that  American  slavery  is  one  of  those  offenses  which,  in 
the  providence  of  God,  must  needs  come,  but  which  having  continued  through 
his  appointed  time,  he  now  wills  to  remove,  and  that  he  gives  to  North  and  South 
this  terrible  war  as  the  woe  due  to  those  by  whom  the  offense  came,  shall  we 
discern  therein  any  departure  from  those  divine  attributes  which  the  believers  in 
a  living  God  always  ascribe  to  him? 

Fondly  do  we  hope,  fervently  do  we  pray,  that  this  mighty  scourge  of  war 
may  soon  pass  away. 

Yet,  if  God  wills  that  it  continue  until  all  the  wealth  piled  by  the  bonds 
man's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until 
every  drop  of  blood  drawn  by  the  lash  shall  be  paid  by  another  drawn  with  the 
sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so  still  it  must  be  said,  "The  judg 
ments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  ri^hteo-us  altogether." 

With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness  in  the  right,  as 
God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in;  to 
bind  up  the  nation's  wounds;  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle, 
and  for  his  widow  and  for  his  orphan;  to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a 
just  and  lasting  peace  among  ourselves,  and  with  all  nations. 


NEGROES  KNEEL  AT  THE   PRESIDENT'S  FEET. 

While  the  president  was  walking  through  the  streets  of  Richmond,  Virginia, 
April  4,  1865,  some  negroes  knelt  at  his  feet  and  thanked  him  for  their  freedom. 
The  president  replied,  in  his  characteristic  way,  as  follows: 

"  Don't  kneel  to  me — that  is  not  right.  You  must  kneel  to  God  only,  and 
thank  him  for  the  liberty  you  will  hereafter  enjoy;  I  am  but  God's  humble 
instrument;  but  you  may  rest  assured  that  as  long  as  I  live  no  one  shall  put  a 
shackle  on  your  limbs,  and  you  shall  have  all  the  rights  which  God  has  given  to 
every  other  free  citizen  of  this  republic.1' 


SECOND  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

(Response  to  an  address  by  George  W.  Dennison,  president  of  the  national  Republican  con 
vention  at  Baltimore,  notifying  Mr.  Lincoln  of  his  nomination.  The  committee  met  at  the 
White  House  on  June  9,  1864.) 

I  will  neither  conceal  my  gratification  nor  restrain  the  expression  of  my 
gratitude,  that  the  Union  people  throughout  this  country,  in  the  continued 
effort  to  save  and  advance  the  nation,  have  deemed  me  not  unworthy^  to  remain 
in  my  present  position. 


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THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  235 

ANSWER  TO  AN   APPLICATION  FOR  PARDON. 

The  following  reply  was  made  by  Mr.  Lincoln  to  an  application  for  the 
pardon  of  a  soldier  who  had  shown  himself  very  brave  in  war,  and  had  been 
severely  wounded,  but  afterward  deserted: 

"Did  you  say  he  was  once  badly  wounded?  Then,  as  the  Scriptures  say  that 
in  the  shedding  of  blood  is  the  remission  of  sins,  I  guess  we'll  have  to  let  him  off 
this  time." 


HAPPIEST  DAY  OF  THE  FOUR  YEARS. 

The  following  remarks  were  made  by  the  president  to  Admiral  David  D. 
Porter,  while  on  board  the  flagship  Malvern,on  the  James  river,  in.  front  of  Rich 
mond,  the  day  the  city  surrendered: 

u  Thank  God  that  I  have  lived  to  see  this!  It  seems  to  me  that  I  have  been 
dreaming  a  horrid  dream  for  four  years,  and  now  the  nightmare  is  gone.  I  want 
to  see  Richmond." 


MR.   LINCOLN  SEEKS  RELAXATION. 

Seeking  relaxation  from  the  engrossing  cares  which  confronted  him  night 
and  day,  Mr.  Lincoln  remarked  to  Schuyler  Colfax,  as  he  went  to  the  theater  one 
evening  after  receiving  intelligence  of  what  he  regarded  as  reverses  to  the  army 
of  General  Grant  in  the  wilderness: 

u  People  may  think  strange  of  it,  but  I  must  have  some  relief  from  this  terrible 
anxiety,  or  it  will  kill  me." 


REGARDING  HIS  SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 
.(Letter  to  Thurlow  Weed,  March  15,  1865.) 

Everyone  likes  a  compliment.  Thank  you  for  yours  on  my  little  notification 
speech  and  on  the  recent  inaugural  address.  I  expect  the  latter  to  wear  as  well 
as,  perhaps  better  than,  anything  I  have  produced;  but  I  believe  it  is  not 
immediately  popular. 

Men  are  not  flattered  by  being  shown  that  there  has  been  a  difference  of  pur 
pose  between  the  Almighty  and  them. 

To  deny  it,  however,  in  this  case  is  to  deny  that  there  is  a  God  governing  the 
world. 

It  is  a  truth  which  I  thought  needed  to  be  told,  and,  as  whatever  of  humil 
iation  there  is  in  it  falls  most  heavily  on  myself,  I  thought  others  might  afford  for 
me  to  tell  it.  • 


236  THOUGHTS    AND    SAYINGS    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

"HOLD  ON   WITH  A  BULLDOG   GRIP." 

(Dispatch  to  General  Grant,  August  17,  1864.) 

have  seen  your  dispatch  expressing  your  unwillingness  to  break  your  hold 
where  you  are.     Neither  am  I  willing.     Hold  on  with  a  bulldog  grip. 


NOT  SCARED  ABOUT  HIMSELF. 

Reply  to  Schuyler  Colfax,  when  told  how  uneasy  all  had  been  at  his  going  to 
Richmond: 

"  Why,  if  any  one  else  had  been  president  and  had  gone  to  Richmond,  I  would 
have  been  alarmed;  but  I  was  not  scared  about  myself  a  bit.'1 


LAST  WRITTEN   WORDS  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Given  to  Mr.  Ashmun  as  the  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  were  leaving  the 
White  House,  a  few  minutes  before  eight  o'clock,  on  the  evening  of  April 
14, 1865: 

"Allow  Mr.  Ashmun  and  friend  to  come  to  see  me  at  9  o'clock  A.  M.,  to-morrow, 
April  15,  1865." 

REMARKS  TO   HIS   WIFE  ON   THE   FATAL  DAY. 

Remarks  made  by  the  president  to  his  wife  while  they  were  out  driving  in  an  open  carriage 
on  the  afternoon  of  April  14,  18(35,  when  Mrs.  Lincoln  said:  "You  almost  startle  me  by 
your  cheerfulness.") 

And  well  I  may  feel  so,  Mary,  for  I  consider  this  day  the  war  has  come  to  a 
close.  We  must  both  be  more  cheerful  in  the  future;  between  the  war  arid  the 
loss  of  our  darling  Willie  we  have  been  very  miserable. 


LAST   PUBLIC   ADDRESS   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

(Remarks  on  April  11,  1865,  to  a  gathering  at  the  White  House  on  the  fall  of  Richmond.) 

We  meet  this  evening  not  in  sorrow,  but  in  gladness  of  heart. 

The  evacuation  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  and  the  surrender  of  the  prin 
cipal  insurgent  army,  give  hope  of  a  righteous  and  speedy  peace,  whose  joyous 
expression  cannot  be  restrained. 

In  the  midst  of  this,  however,  He  from  whom  all  blessings  flow  must  not  be 
forgotten.  Nor  must  those  whose  harder  part  gives  us  the  cause  of  rejoicing  be 
overlooked;  their  honors  must  not  be  parceled  out  with  others. 

I  myself  was  near  the  front,  and  had  the  high  pleasure  of  transmitting  the 
good  news  to  you;  but  no  part  of  the  honor,  for  plan  or  execution,  is  mine.  To 
General  Grant,  his  skilful  officers  and  brave  men,  all  belongs. 


SERMON  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  LINCOLN. 

BY   HENRY   WARD   BEECHER,  APRIL  23,  1865. 

EVEN  he  who  now  sleeps  has,  by  this  event,  been  clothed  with  new  influence.  Dead, 
he  speaks  to  men  who  now  willingly  hear  what  before  they  refused  to  listen  to.  Now 
his  simple  and  mighty  words  will  be  gathered  like  those  of  Washington,  and  your  children 
and  your  children's  children  shall  be  taught,  to  ponder  the  simplicity  and  deep  wisdom  of 
utterances  which,  in  their  time,  passed,  in  the  party  heat,  as  idle  words.  Men  will  receive 
a  new  impulse  of  patriotism  for  his  sake,  and  will  guard  with  zeal  the  whole  country 
which  he  loved  so  well ;  I  swear  you,  on  the  altar  of  his  memory,  to  be  more  faithful  to 
the  country  for  which  he  has  perished.  Men  will,  as  they  follow  his  hearse,  swear  a  new 
hatred  to  that  slavery  against  which  he  warred,  and  which  in  vanquishing  him  has  made 
him  a  martyr  and  a  conqueror  ;  I  swear  you,  by  the  memory  of  this  martyr,  to  hate  slav 
ery  with  an  unappeasable  hatred.  Men  will  admire  and  imitate  his  unmoved  firmness, 
his  inflexible  conscience  for  the  right ;  and  yet  his  gentleness,  as  tender  as  a  woman's,  his 
moderation  of  spirit,  which  not  all  the  heat  of  party  could  inflame,  nor  all  the  jars  aoad 
disturbances  of  this  country  shake  out  of  its  place;  I  swear  you  to  an  emulation  of  his 
justice,  his  moderation  and  his  mercy. 

You  I  can  comfort;  but  how  can  I  speak  to  that  twilight  million  to  whom  his  name 
was  as  the  name  of  an  angel  of  God  ?  There  will  be  wailing  in  places  which  no  ministers 
shall  be  able  to  reach.  When,  in  hovel  and  in  cot,  in  wood  and  in  wilderness,  in  the 
field  throughout  the  South,  the  dusky  children,  who  looked  upon  him  as  that  Moses 
whom  God  sent  before  them  to  lead  them  out  of  the  land  of  bondage,  learn  that  he  has 
fallen,  who  shall  comfort  them?  Oh,  thou  Shepherd  of  Israel,  that  didst  comfort  thy 
people  of  old,  to  thy  care  we  commit  the  helpless,  the  long  wronged,  and  grieved  ! 

And  now  the  martyr  is  moving  in  triumphal  march,  mightier  than  when  alive.  The 
nation  rises  up  at  every  stage  of  his  coming.  Cities  and  states  are  his  pall-bearers,  and 
the  cannon  beats  the  hours  with  solemn  progression.  Dead— dead— dead— he  yet  speak- 
eth !  Is  Washington  dead  ?  Is  Hampden  dead  ?  Is  David  dead  ?  Is  any  man  dead  that 
ever  was  fit  to  live  ?  Disenthralled  of  flesh,  and  risen  to  the  unobstructed  sphere  where 
passion  never  comes,  he  begins  his  illimitable  work.  His  life  now  is  grafted  upon  the 
Infinite,  and  will  be  fruitful  as  no  earthly  life  can  be.  Pass  on,  thou  that  hast  overcome  ! 
Your  sorrows,  O  people,  are  his  peace !  Your  bells,  and  bands,  and  muffled  drums  sound 
triumph  in  his  ear.  Wail  and  weep  here,  God  makes  it  echo  joy  and  triumph  there. 
Pass  on,  thou  victor  ! 


2S7 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

FROM  THE  ODE  RECITED   AT  THE  HARVARD  COMMEMORATION, 
JULY   21,  1865. 

LIFE  may  be  given  in  many  ways, 
And  loyalty  to  Truth  be  sealed 
As  bravely  in  the  closet  as  the  field, 
So  bountiful  is  Fate ; 
But  then  to  stand  beside  her, 
When  craven  churls  deride  her, 
To  front  a  lie  in  arms  and  not  to  yield, 

This  shows,  methinks,  God's  plan 
And  measure  of  a  stalwart  man, 
Limbed  like  the  old  heroic  breeds, 
Who  stands  self-poised  on  manhood's  solid  earth, 
Not  forced  to  frame  excuses  for  his  birth, 
Fed  from  within  with  all  the  strength  he  needs. 

Such  was  he,  our  Martyr-Chief, 

Whom  late  the  Nation  he  had  led, 
With  ashes  011  her  head, 
Wept  with  the  passion  of  an  angry  grief: 
Forgive  me,  if  from  present  thiugs  I  turn 
To  speak  what  in  my  heart  will  beat  and  burn, 
And  hang  my  wreath  on  his  world-honored  urn. 
Nature,  they  say,  doth  dote, 
And  cannot  make  a  man 
Save  on  some  worn-out  plan, 
Repeating  us  by  rote  : 

For  him  her  Old  World  moulds  aside  she  threw. 
And,  choosing  sweet  clay  from  the  breast 

Of  the  unexhausted  West, 
With  stuff  untainted  shaped  a  hero  new, 
Wise,  steadfast  in  the  strength  of  God,  and  true. 

How  beautiful  to  see 

Once  more  a  shepherd  of  mankind  indeed, 
Who  loved  his  charge,  but  never  loved  to  lead ; 
One  whose  meek  flock  the  people  joyed  to  be, 
Not  lured  by  any  cheat  of  birth, 
But  bv  his  clear-grained  human  worth, 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN.  239 

And  brave  old  wisdom  of  sincerity  ! 

They  knew  that  outward  grace  is  dust ; 
They  could  not  choose  but  trust 
In  that  sure-footed  mind's  unfaltering  skill, 

And  supple-tempered  will 

That  bent  like  perfect  steel  to  spring  again  and  thrust. 
His  was  no  lonely  mountain-peak  of  mind, 
Thrusting  to  thin  air  o'er  our  cloudy  bars, 
A  sea-mark  now,  now  lost  in  vapors  blind  : 
Broad  prairie  rather,  genial,  level-lined, 
Fruitful  and  friendly  for  all  humankind, 
Yet  also  nigh  to  heaven  and  loved  of  loftiest  stars. 

Nothing  of  Europe  here, 
Or,  then,  of  Europe  fronting  morn  ward  still, 

Ere  any  names  of  Serf  and  Peer 
Could  Nature's  equal  scheme  deface 
And  thwart  her  genial  will ; 
Here  was  a  type  of  the  true  elder  race, 
And  one  of  Plutarch's  men  talked  with  us  face  to  face. 

I  praise  him  not ;  it  were  too  late ; 
And  some  iunative  weakness  there  must  be 
In  him  who  condescends  to  victory 
Such  as  the  Present  gives,  and  cannot  wait, 
Safe  in  himself  as  in  a  fate. 
So  always  firmly  he : 
He  knew  to  bide  his  time, 
And  can  his  fame  abide, 
Still  patient  in  his  simple  faith  sublime, 

Till  the  wise  years  decide. 
Great  captains,  with  their  guns  and  drums, 
Disturb  our  judgment  for  the  hour, 

But  at  last  silence  comes ; 
These  all  are  gone,  and,  standing  like  a  tower, 
Our  children  shall  behold  his  fame, 

The  kindly-earnest,  brave,  foreseeing  man, 
Sagacious,  patient,  dreading  praise,  not  blame, 
New  birth  of  our  new  soil,  the  first  American. 

— James  Russell  Lowell. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 


JAMES  RUSSELL  LOWELL  was  born  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  February  22, 
1819.  His  father  was  the  Rev.  Charles  Lowell,  and  was  a  direct  descendant  of 
English  settlers.  After  graduating  from  Harvard  (1838),  he  entered  law.  In  1841,  "A 
Year's  Life,"  his  first  volume  of  poems,  was  given  to  the  public.  In  1844,  he  was  married 
to  Maria  White.  The  well-known  "Bigelow  Papers"  made  Mr.  Lowell's  name  widely 
known;  they  appeared  in  the  Boston  Courier  in  1846-8.  In  1845,  "The  Vision  of  Sir 
Launfal"  was  issued.  It  is  one  of  the  grandest  poems  in  the  English  language;  the 
beautiful  portrayal  of  a  right  gospel  pervades  it  from  beginning  to  end.  He  succeeded 
Longfellow  as  professor  of  belles-lettres  at  Harvard  in  1855.  He  was  a  constant  contrib 
utor  to  leading  magazines,  especially  to  the  Atlantic  Monthly.  From  1863-72  he  was  one 
of  the  editors  of  The  North  American  Review.  He  was  appointed  minister  to  Spain  by 
President  Hayes,  in  1877,  and,  in  1880,  was  transferred  to  London.  He  loved  England 
almost  as  his  own  America,  and  was  greatly  admired  and  beloved  by  the  English  people. 
Oxford  honored  him  with  D.C.L.,  and  Cambridge  by  making  him  an  LL.D.  His  death 
occurred  August  1,  1891. 

240 


ORATION   ON    LINCOLN. 

BY   WILLIAM   MCKIXLEY,    EX-GOVERNOR  OF   OHIO. 

IT  requires  the  most  gracious  pages  in  the  world's  history  to  record  what  one 
American  achieved.  The  story  of  this  simple  life  is  the  story  of  a  plain,  honest, 
manly  citizen,  true  patriot  and  profound  statesman,  who,  believing  with  all  the 
strength  of  his  mighty  soul  in  the  institutions  of  his  country,  won,  because  of 
them,  the  highest  place  in  its  government,  then  fell  a  precious  sacrifice  to  the 
Union  he  held  so  dear,  which  Providence  had  spared  his  life  long  enough  to 
save. 

We  meet  to  -do  honor  to  this  immortal  hero,  Abraham  Lincoln,  whose 
achievements  have  heightened  human  aspirations  and  broadened  the  field  of 
opportunity  to  the  races  of  men. 

What  were  the  traits  of  character  which  made  Abraham  Lincoln  prophet  and 
master,  without  a  rival,  in  the  greatest  crisis  in  our  history?  What  gave  him 
such  mighty  power?  To  me  the  answer  is  simple:  " 

Lincoln  had  sublime  faith  in  the  people.  He  walked  with  and  among  them. 
He  recognized  the  importance  and  power  of  an  enlightened  public  sentiment  and 
was  guided  by  it.  Even  amid  the  vicissitudes  of  war  he  concealed  little  from 
public  view  and  inspection.  In  all  he  did  he  invited,  rather  than  evaded,  exam 
ination  and  criticism.  He  submitted  his  plans  and  purposes,  as  far  as  practi 
cable,  to  public  consideration  Avith  perfect  frankness  and  sincerity.  There  was 
such  homely  simplicity  in  his  character  that  it  could  not  be  hedged  in  by  pomp 
of  place,  nor  the  ceremonials  of  high  official  s-tation.  He  was  so  accessible  to  the 
public  that  he  seemed  to  take  the  whole  people  into  his  confidence. 

Here,  perhaps,  was  one  secret  of  his  power.  The  people  never  lost  their  confi 
dence  in  him,  however  much  they  unconsciously  added  to  his  personal  discom 
fort  and  trials.  His  patience  was  almost  superhuman,  and  who  will  say  that  he 
was  mistaken  in  his  treatment  of  the  thousands  who  thronged  continually  about 
him?  More  than  once  when  reproached  for  permitting  visitors  to  crowd  upon 
him  he  asked,  in  pained  surprise,  "  Why,  what  harm  does  this  confidence  in 
men  do  me?  I  get  only  good  and  inspiration  from  it.1' 

Horace  Greeley  once  said:  "I  doubt  whether  man,  woman  or  child,  white  or 
black,  bond  or  free,  virtuous  or  vicious,  ever  accosted  or  reached  forth  a  hand  to 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  detected  in  his  countenance  or  manner  any  repugnance  or 

241 


242  ORATION    ON    LINCOLN. 

shrinking  from  the  proffered  contact,  any  assumption  of  superiority,  or  betrayal 
of  disdain." 

Frederick  Douglass,  the  orator  and  patriot,  is  credited  with  saying,  uMr. 
Lincoln  is  the  only  white  man  with  whom  I  have  ever  talked,  or  in  whose  pres 
ence  I  have  ever  been,  who  did  not,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  betray  to  me 
that  he  recognized  my  color." 

George  Bancroft,  the  historian,  alluding  to  this  characteristic,  which  was 
never  so  conspicuously  manifested  as  during  the  darker  hours  of  the  war,  beauti 
fully  illustrated  it  in  these  memorable  words:  "As  a  child  in  a  dark  night,  on  a 
rugged  way,  catches  hold  of  the  hand  of  its  father  for  guidance  and  support, 
Lincoln  clung  fast  to  the  hand  of  the  people  and  moved  calmly  through  the 
gloom."  .  .  . 

Among  the  statesmen  of  America,  Lincoln  is  the  true  democrat,  and,  Franklin 
perhaps  excepted,  the  first  great  one.  He  had  no  illustrious  ancestry,  no  inherited 
place  or  wealth,  and  none  of  the  prestige,  power,  training  or  culture  which  were 
assured  to  the  gentry  or  landed  classes  of  our  own  colonial  times.  Nor  did 
Lincoln  believe  that  these  classes,  respectable  and  patriotic  however  they  might 
be,  should,  as  a  matter  of  abstract  right,  have  the  controlling  influence  in  our 
government.  Instead,  he  believed  in  the  all-pervading  power  of  public  opinion. 

Lincoln  had  little  or  no  instruction  in  the  common  school,  but,  as  the 
eminent  Dr.  Cuyler  has  said,  he  was  graduated  from  "  the  grand  college  of  free 
labor,  whose  works  were  the  flatboat,  the  farm  and  the  backwoods  lawyer's 
office."  He  had  a  broad  comprehension  of  the  central  idea  of  popular  govern 
ment.  The  Declaration  of  Independence  was  his  handbook;  time  and  again  he 
expressed  his  belief  in  freecFom  and  equality.  July  1,  1854,  he  wrote: 

"Most  governments  have  been  based,  practically,  on  the  denial  of  the  equal 
rights  of  men.  Ours  began  by  affirming  those  rights.  They  said,  'Some  men 
are  too  ignorant  and  vicious  to  share  in  government.'  l  Possibly  so,'  said  we,. 
1  and  by  your  system  you  would  always  keep  them  ignorant  and  vicious.  We 
propose  to  give  all  a  chance,  and  we  expect  the  weak  to  grow  stronger,  the 
ignorant  wiser,  and  all  better  and  happier  together.1  We  made  the  experiment, 
and  the  fruit  is  before  us.  Look  at  it,  think  of  it!  Look  at  it  in  its  aggregate 
grandeur,  extent  of  country,  and  numbers  of  population." 

Lincoln  believed  in  the  uplifting  influences  of  free  government,  and  that  by 
giving  all  a  chance  we  could  get  higher  average  results  for  the  people  than 
where  governments  are  exclusive  and  opportunities  are  limited  to  the  few.  No 
American  ever  did  so  much  as  he  to  enlarge  these  opportunities,  or  tear  down  the 
barriers  which  exclude  a  free  participation  in  them.  .  .  . 

Lincoln  was  essentially  a  man  of  peace.  He  inherited  from  his  Quaker  fore 
fathers  an  intense  opposition  to  war.  During  his  brief  service  in  Congress  he 
found  occasion  more  than  once  to  express  it.  He  opposed  the  Mexican  war  from 
principle,  but  voted  men  and  supplies  after  hostilities  actually  began.  In  one  of 
his  speeches  in  the  House,  he  characterized  military  glory  as  "  that  rainbow  that 
rises  in  showers  of  blood — that  serpent  that  charms  but  to  destroy."  When  he 


ORATION    ON    LINCOLN.  243 

became  responsible  for  the  welfare  of  the  country,  he  was  none  the  less  earnest 
for  peace.  He  felt  that  even  in  the  most  righteous  cause  war  is  a  fearful  thing, 
and  he  was  actuated  by  the  feeling  that  it  ought  not  to  be  begun  except  as  a  last 
resort,  and  then  only  after  it  had  been  precipitated  by  the  enemies  of  the  country. 
He  said,  in  Philadelphia,  February  22,  1861: 

"  There  is  no  need  of  bloodshed  and  war.  There  is  no  necessity  for  it.  I  am 
not  in  favor  of  such  a  course;  and  I  may  say  in  advance  that  there  will  be 
no  bloodshed  unless  it  is  forced  upon  the  government.  The  government  will  not 
use  force  unless  force  is  used  against  it." 

In  the  selection  of  his  Cabinet,  he  at  once  showed  his  greatness  and  magnan 
imity.  His  principal  rivals  for  the  presidential  nomination  were  invited  to  seats 
in  his  council  chamber.  No  one  but  a  great  man,  conscious  of  his  own  strength, 
would  have  done  this.  It  was  soOn  perceived  that  his  greatness  was  in  no  sense 
obscured  by  the  presence  of  the  distinguished  men  who  sat  about  him.  The  most 
gifted  statesmen  of  the  country — Seward,  Chase,  Cameron,  Stanton,  Blair, 
Bates,  Welles,  Fessenden  and  Dennison,  some  of  whom  had  been  leaders  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States — composed  that  historic  Cabinet,  and  the  man  who 
had  been  sneered  at  as  "the  rail-splitter11  suffered  nothing  by  such  association 
and  comparison.  He  was  a  leader  in  fact  as  well  as  name. 

Magnanimity  was  one  of  Lincoln's  most  striking  traits.  Patriotism  moved 
him  at  every  step.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  he  placed  at  the  head  of  three 
most  important  military  departments  three  of  his  political  opponents — Patterson, 
Butler  and  McClellan.  He  did  not  propose  to  make  it  a  partizan  war..  He 
sought  by  every  means  in  his  power  to  enlist  all  who  were  patriots.  In  his 
message  of  July  4,  1861,  he  stated  his  purpose  in  these  words: 

u  I  desire  to  preserve  the  government,  that  it  may  be  administered  for  all  as 
it  was  administered  by  the  men  who  made  it.  On  the  side  of  the  Union  it  is  a 
struggle  to  maintain  in  the  world  that  form  and  substance  of  government  whose 
leading  object  is  to  elevate  the  condition  of  men,  lift  artificial  burdens  from  all 
shoulders,  and  clear  the  paths  of  laudable  pursuits  for  all,  to  afford  all  an 
unfettered  start  and  a  fair  chance  in  the  race  of  life.  This  is  the  leading  object 
of  the  government  for  whose  existence  we  contend." 

Many  people  were  impatient  at  Lincoln's  conservatism.  He  gave  the  South 
every  chance  possible.  He  pleaded  with  them  with  an  earnestness  that  was 
pathetic.  He  recognized  that  the  South  was  not  alone  to  blame  for  the  existence 
of  slavery,  but  that  the  sin  was  a  national  one.  He  sought  to  impress  upon  the 
South  that  he  would  not  use  his  office  as  president  to  take  away  from  them  any 
constitutional  right,  great  or  small. 

In  his  first  inaugural  he  addressed  the  men  of  the  South  as  well  as  the  North 
as  his  "countrymen,"  one  and  all,  and,  with  an  outburst  of  indescribable  tender 
ness,  exclaimed:  "We  are  not  enemies,  but  friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies." 
And  then  in  those  wondrously  sweet  and  touching  words  which  even  yet  thrill 
the  heart,  he  said:  "  Though  passion  may  have  strained,  it  must  not  break  our 
bonds  of  affection.  The  mystic  chords  of  memory,  stretching  from  every  battle- 


ORATION   ON   LINCOLN.  245 

field  and  patriot  grave  to  every  living  heart  and  hearthstone  all  over  this  broad 
land,  will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union  when  again  touched,  as  surely  they 
will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature." 

But  his  words  were  unheeded.  The  mighty  war  came,  with  its  dreadful  train. 
Knowing  no  wrong,  he  dreaded  no  evil  for  himself.  He  had  done  all  he  could  to 
save  the  country  by  peaceful  means.  He  had  entreated  and  expostulated, 
now  he  would  do  and  dare.  He  had,  in  words  of  solemn  import,  warned 
the  men  of  the  South.  He  had  appealed  to  their  patriotism  by  the  sacred 
memories  of  the  battle-fields  of  the  Revolution,  on  which  the  patriot  blood  of 
their  ancestors  had  been  so  bravely  shed,  not  to  break  up  the  Union,  Yet  all  in 
vain.  u  Both  parties  deprecated  war,  but  one  would  make  war  rather  than  let  the 
nation  survive,  and  the  other  would  accept  war  rather  than  let  it  perish.'  And 
the  war  came." 

Lincoln  did  all  he  could  to  avert  it,  but  there  was  no  hesitation  on  his  part 
when  the  sword  of  rebellion  flashed  from  its  scabbard.  He  was  from  that  moment 
until  the  close  of  his  life  unceasingly  devoted  and  consecrated  to  the  great  pur 
pose  of  saving  the  Union.  All  other  matters  he  regarded  as  trivial,  and  every 
movement,  of  whatever  character,  whether  important  or  unimportant  of  itself, 
was  bent  to  that  end. 

The  world  now  regards  with  wonder  the  infinite  patience,  gentleness  and 
kindness  with  which  he  bore  the  terrible  burden  of  that  four  years'  struggle. 
Humane,  forgiving  and  long-suffering  himself,  he  was  always  especially  tender 
and  considerate  of  the  poor,  and  in.  his  treatment  of  them  was  full  of  those 
"  kind  little  acts  which  are  of  the  same  blood  as  great  and  holy  deeds."  As 
Charles  Sumner  so  well  said,  "  With  him  as  president  the  idea  of  republican 
institutions,  where  no  place  is  too  high  for  the  humblest,  was  perpetually  man 
ifest,  so  that  his  simple  presence  was  a  proclamation  of  the  equality  of  all  men." 

During  the  whole  of  the  struggle  he  was  a  tower  of  strength  to  the  Union. 
Whether  in  defeat  or  victory,  ha  kept  right  on,  dismayed  at  nothing,  and  never 
to  be  diverted  from  the  pathway  of  duty.  Always  cool  and  determined,  all 
learned  to  gain  renewed  courage,  calmness  and  wisdom  from  him,  and  to  lean 
upon  his  strong  arm  for  support.  The  proud  designation,  "  Father  of  his 
country,"  was  not  more  appropriately  bestowed  upon  Washington  than  the 
affectionate  title,  "Father  Abraham,"  was  given  to  Lincoln  by  the  soldiers  and 
loyal  people  of  the  North. 

The  crowning  glory  of  Lincoln's  administration,  and  the  greatest  executive 
act  in  American  history,  was  his  immortal  proclamation  of  emancipation.  Per 
haps  more  clearly  than  any  one  else  Lincoln  had  realized  years  before  he  was 
called  to  the  presidency  that  the  country  could  not  continue  half  slave  and  half 
free.  He  declared  it  before  Seward  proclaimed  the  "  irrepressible  conflict.1'  The 
contest  between  freedom  and  slavery  was  inevitable;  it  was  written  in  the  stars. 
The  nation  must  be  either  all  slave  or  all  free.  Lincoln  with  almost  supernatural 
prescience  saw  it.  His  prophetic  vision  is  manifested  through  all  his  utterances; 
notably  in  the  great  debate  between  himself  and  Douglas.  To  him  was  given 


246  ORATION   ON   LINCOLN. 

the  duty  and  responsibility  of  making  that  great  classic  of  liberty,  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence,  no  longer  an  empty  promise,  but  a  glorious  fulfillment. 

Many  long  and  thorny  steps  were  to  be  taken  before  this  great  act  of  justice 
could  be  performed.  Patience  and  forbearance  had  to  be  exercised.  It  had  to 
be  demonstrated  that  the  Union  could  be  saved  in  no  other  way.  Lincoln,  much 
as  he  abhorred  slavery,  felt  that  his  chief  duty  was  to  save  the  Union,  under  the 
Constitution  and  within  the  Constitution.  He  did  not  assume  the  duties  of  his* 
great  office  with  the  purpose  of  abolishing  slavery,  nor  changing  the  Constitu 
tion,  but  as  a  servant  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  of  the  country  then 
existing.  In  a  speech  delivered  in  Ohio  in  1859,  he  said:  "The  people  of  the 
United  States  are  the  rightful  masters  of  both  Congress  and  the  courts,  not  to 
overthrow  the  Constitution,  but  to  overthrow  the  men  who  would  overthrow  the 
Constitution.1' 

This  was  the  principle  which  governed  him,  and  which  he  applied  in  his 
official  conduct  when  he  reached  the  presidency.  We  now  know  that  he  had 
emancipation  constantly  in  his  mind's  eye  for  nearly  two  years  after  his  first 
inauguration.  It  is  true  he  said  at  the  start,  u  I  believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to 
interfere  with  slavery  where  it  now  exists,  and  have  no  intention  of  doing  so; " 
and  that  the  public  had  little  reason  to  think  he  was  meditating  general  emanci 
pation  until  he  issued  his  preliminary  proclamation,  September  22,  1862. 

Just  a  month  before,  exactly,  he  had  written  to  the  editor  of  the  New  York 
Tribune : 

uMy  paramount  object  is  to  save  the  Union,  and  not  either  to  save  or  destroy 
slavery.  If  I  could  save  the  Union  without  freeing  any  slave,  I  would  do  it; 
if  I  could  save  it  by  freeing  all  the  slaves,  I  would  do  it;  and  if  I  could  do  it  by 
freeing  some  and  leaving  others  alone,  I  would  also  do  that.1' 

The  difference  in  his  thought  and  purpose  about  "  the  divine  institution"  is 
yery  apparent  in  these  two  expressions.  Both  were  made  in  absolute  honor  and 
sincerity.  Public  sentiment  had  undergone  a  great  change,  and  Lincoln,  valiant 
defender  of  the  Constitution  that  he  was,  and  faithful  tribune  of  the  people  that 
he  always  was,  changed  with  the  people.  'The  war  had  brought  them  and  him 
to  a  nearer  realization  of  our  absolute  dependence  upon  a  higher  power,  and  had 
quickened  his  conceptions  of  duty  more  acutely  than  the  public  could  realize. 
The  purposes  of  God,  working  through  the  ages,  were,  perhaps,  more  clearly 
revealed  to  him  than  any  other. 

Besides,  it  was  as  he  himself  once  said,  "  It  is  a  quality  of  revolutions  not  to 
go  by  old  lines  or  old  laws,  but  to  break  up  both  and  make  new  ones."  He  was 
naturally  "antislavery,"  and  the  determination  he  formed,  when  as  a  young  man 
he  witnessed  an  auction  in  the  slave-shambles  in  New  Orleans,  never  forsook 
him.  It  is  recorded  how  his  soul  burned  with  indignation,  and  that  he  then 
exclaimed,  "If  I  ever  get  a  chance  to  hit  that  thing,  I'll  hit  it  hard!"  He  "hit 
it  hard"  when  as  a  member  of  the  Illinois  Legislature  he  protested  that  "the 
institution  of  slavery  is  founded  on  both  injustice  and  bad  policy."  He  "hit  it 
hard  "  when  as  a  member  of  Congress  he  "  voted  for  the  Wilmot  Proviso  as  good 


ORATION   OK   LINCOLN.  247 

as  forty  times."  He  "  hit  it  hard"  when  he  stumped  his  state  against  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill,  and  on  the  direct  issue  carried  Illinois  in  favor  of  the  restriction 
of  slavery  by  a  majority  of  4,414  votes.  He  u  hit  it  hard "  when  he  approved 
the  law  abolishing  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  an  antislavery  measure 
that  he  had  voted  for  in  Congress.  He  ''hit  it  hard"  when  he  signed  the  acts 
abolishing  slavery  in  all  the  territories  and  for  the  repeal  of  the  fugitive-slave 
law.  But  it  still  remained  for  him  to  strike  slavery  its  death-blow.  He  did  that 
in  his  glorious  proclamation  of  freedom.  .  .  . 

In  all  the  long  years  of  slavery  agitation,  unlike  any  of  the  other  anti- 
slavery  leaders,  Lincoln  always  carried  the  people  with  him.  In  1854,  Illinois 
cast  loose  from  her  old  Democratic  moorings  and  followed  his  leadership  in  a 
most  emphatic  protest  against  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise.  In  1858, 
the  people  of  Illinois  indorsed  his  opposition  to  the  aggressions  of  slavery,  in  a 
state  usually  Democratic,  even  against  so  popular  a  leader  as  the  "Little  Giant." 
In  1860,  the  whole  country  indorsed  his  position  on  slavery,  even  when  the  people 
were  continually  harangued  that  his  election  meant  the  dissolution  of  the  Union. 
During  the  war  the  people  advanced  with  him  step  by  step  to  its  final  overthrow. 
Indeed,  in  the  election  of  1864  the  people  not  only  indorsed  emancipation,  but 
went  far  toward  recognizing  the  political  equality  of  the  negro.  They  heartily 
justified  the  president  in  having  enlisted  colored  soldiers  to  fight  side  by  side  with 
the  white  man  in  the  noble  cause  of  union  and  liberty.  Aye,  the}7  did  more. 
They  indorsed  his  position  on  another  and  vastly  more  important  phase  of  the 
race  problem.  They  approved  his  course  as  president  in  reorganizing  the  govern 
ment  of  Louisiana,  and  a  hostile  press  did  not  fail  to  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  this  meant  eventually  negro  suffrage  in  that  state. 

Perhaps,  however,  it  was  not  known  then  that  Lincoln  had  written  the  new 
free-state  governor,  March  13,  1864: 

"Now  you  are  about  to  have  a  convention,  which,  among  other  things,  will 
probably  define  the  elective  franchise.  I  barely  suggest  for  your  private  con 
sideration  whether  some  of  the  colored  people  may  not  be  let  in — as,  for  instance, 
the  very  intelligent,  and  especially  those  who  have  fought  gallantly  in  our  ranks. 
They  would  probably  help,  in  some  trying  time  to  come,  to  keep  the  jewel  of 
liberty  within  the  family  of  freedom." 

Lincoln  had  that  happy,  peculiar  habit  which  few  public  men  have  attained, 
of  looking  away  from  the  deceptive  and  misleading  influences  about  him — and 
none  are  more  deceptive  than  those  of  public  life  in  our  capitals — straight  into 
the  hearts  of  the  people.  He  could  not  be  deceived  by  the  self-interested  host  of 
eager  counselors  who  sought  to  enforce  their  own  particular  views  upon  him  as 
the  voice  of  the  country.  He  chose  to  determine  for  himself  what  the  people 
were  thinking  about  and  wanting  him  to  do,  and  no  man  ever  lived  who  was  a 
more  accurate  judge  of  their  opinions  and  wishes. 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg  turned  the  scale  of  tlie  war  in  favor  of  the  Union, 
and  it  has  always  seemed  to  me  most  fortunate  that  Lincoln  declared  for 
emancipation  before  rather  than  after  that  decisive  contest.  A  later  proclamation 


ORATION   ON   LINCOLN.  249 

might  have  been  construed  as  a  tame  and  cowardly  performance,  not  a  chal 
lenge  of  truth  to  error  for  mortal  combat.  The  ground  on  which  that  battle 
was  fought  is  held  sacred  by  every  friend  of  freedom.  But  important  as  the 
battle  itself  was,  the  dedication  of  it  as  a  national  cemetery  is  celebrated  for  a 
grander  thing.  The  words  Lincoln  spoke  there  will  live  "until  time  shall 
be  no  more11 — through  all  eternity.  Well  may  they  be  forever  preserved  on 
tablets  of  bronze  upon  the  spot  where  he  spoke,  but  how  infinitely  better 
it  would  be  if  they  could  find  a  permanent  lodging-place  in  the  soul  of  every 
American!  .  .  . 

It  is  not  difficult  to  place  a  correct  estimate  upon  the  character  of  Lincoln. 
He  was  the  greatest  man  of  his  time,  especially  approved  of  God  for  the  work 
he  gave  him  to  do.  History  abundantly  proves  his  superiority  as  a  leader,  and 
establishes  his  constant  reliance  upon  a  higher  power  for  guidance  and  support. 
The  tendency  of  this  age  is  to  exaggeration,  but  of  Lincoln  certainly  none  have 
spoken  more  highly  than  those  who  knew  him  best. 

The  greatest  names  in  American  history  are  Washington  and  Lincoln.  One 
is  forever  associated  with  the  independence  of  the  states  and  formation  of  the 
Federal  Union,  the  other  with  the  universal  freedom  and  the  preservation  of  that 
Union.  Washington  enforced  the  Declaration  of  Independence  as  against 
England,  Lincoln  proclaimed  its  fulfillment,  not  only  to  a  downtrodden  race  in 
America,  but  to  all  people,  for  all  those  who  may  seek  the  protection  of  our  flag. 
These  illustrious  men  achieved  grander  results  for  mankind  within  a  single 
century — from  1775  to  1865 — than  any  other  men  ever  accomplished  in  all  the 
years  since  first  the  flight  of  time  began.  Washington  engaged  in  no  ordinary 
revolution.  With  him  it  was  not  who  should  rule,  but  what  should  rule.  He 
drew  his  sword,  not  for  a  change  of  rulers  upon  an  established  throne,  but  to 
establish  a  new  government,  which  should  acknowledge  no  throne  but  the  tribune 
of  the  people.  Lincoln  accepted  war  to  save  the  Union,  thje  safeguard  of  our 
liberties,  and  re-established  it  on  "  indestructible  foundations  "  as  forever  u  one 
and  indivisible."  To  quote  his  own  grand  words: 

"Now,  we  are  all  contending  that  this  nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth 
of  freedom,  and  that  the  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people, 
shall  not  perish  from  the  earth.11 

Each  lived  to  accomplish  his  appointed  task.  Each  received  the  unbounded 
gratitude  of  the  people  of  his  time,  and  each  is  held  in  great  and  ever-increasing 
reverence  by  posterity.  The  fame  of  each  will  never  die.  It  will  grow  with  the 
ages,  because  it  is  based  upon  imperishable  service  to  humanity — not  to  the 
people  of  a  single  generation  or  country,  but  to  the  whole  human  family,  where- 
ever  scattered,  forever. 

The  present  generation  knows  Washington  only  from  history,  and  by  that 
alone  can  judge  him.  Lincoln  we  know  by  history  also;  but  thousands  are  still 
living  who  participated  in  the  great  events  in  which  he  was  leader  and  master. 
Many  of  his  contemporaries  survive  him;  some  are  here  yet  in  almost  every 
locality.  So  Lincoln  is  not  far  removed  from  us.  Indeed,  he  may  be  said  to  be 


250  ORATION   ON   LINCOLN. 

still  known  to  the  millions;  not  surrounded  by  the  mists  of  antiquity,  nor  by  the 
halo  of  idolatry  that  is  impenetrable. 

He  never  was  inaccessible  to  the  people.  Thousands  carry  with  them  yet  the 
words  which  he  spoke  in  their  hearing;  thousands  remember  the  pressure  of  his 
hand;  and  I  remember,  as  though  it  were  but  yesterday,  and  thousands  of  my 
comrades  will  recall,  how,  when  he  reviewed  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  imme 
diately  after  the  battle  of  Antietam,  his  indescribably  sad,  thoughtful,  far-seeing 
expression  pierced  every  man's  soul.  Nobody  could  keep  the  people  away  from 
him,  and  when  they  came  to  him  he  would  suffer  no  one  to  drive  them  back.  So  it 
is  that  an  unusually  large  number  of  American  people  came  to  know  this  great 
man,  and  that  he  is  still  so  well  remembered  by  them.  It  cannot  be  said  that 
they  are  mistaken  about  him,  or  that  they  misinterpreted  his  character  and 
greatness. 

P—  Men  are  still  connected  with  the  government  who  served  during  his  entire 
administration.  There  are  at  least  two  senators,  and  perhaps  twice  as  many 
representatives,  who  participated  in  his  first  inauguration;  men  who  stood  side 
by  side  with  him  in  the  trying  duties  of  his  administration,  and  have  been  with 
out  interruption  in  one  branch  or  another  of  the  public  service  ever  since.  The 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  still  has  among  its  members  one  whom 
Lincoln  appointed,  and  so  of  other  branches  of  the  Federal  judiciary.  His  faith 
ful  private  secretaries  are  still  alive,  and  have  rendered  posterity  a  great  service 
in  their  history  of  Lincoln  and  his  times.  They  have  told  the  story  of  his  life 
and  public  services  with  such  entire  frankness  and  fidelity  as  to  exhibit  to  the 
world  "the  very  inner  courts  of  his  soul."  This  host  of  witnesses,  without 
exception,  agree  as  to  the  true  nobility  and  intellectual  greatness  of  Lincoln.  All 
proudly  claim  for  Lincoln  the  highest  abilities  and  the  most  distinguished  and 
self-sacrificing  patriotism. 

Lincoln  taught  them,  and  has  taught  us,  that  no  party  or  partizan  can  escape 
responsibility  to  the  people;  that  no  party  advantage,  or  presumed  party  advan 
tage,  should  ever  swerve  us  from  the  plain  path  of  duty,  which  is  ever  the  path 
of  honor  and  distinction.  He  emphasized  his  words  by  his  daily  life  and  deeds. 
He  showed  to  the  world  by  his  lofty  example,  as  well  as  by  precept  and  maxim, 
that  there  are  times  when  the  voice  of  partizanship  should  be  hushed  and  that  of 
patriotism  only  be  heeded. 

He  taught  that  a  good  service  done  for  the  country,  even  in  aid  of  an 
unfriendly  administration,  brings  to  the  men  and  the  party  who  rise  above  the 
temptation  of  temporary  partizan  advantage  a  lasting  gain  in  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  the  people.  He  showed  that  such  patriotic  devotion  is  usually 
rewarded,  not  only  with  retention  in  power  and  the  consciousness  of  duty  well 
and  bravely  done,  but  with  the  gratification  of  beholding  the  blessings  of  relief 
and  prosperity,  not  of  a  party  or  section,  but  of  the  whole  country.  This,  he 
held,  should  be  the  firat  and  great  consideration  of  all  public  servants. 

When  Lincoln  died,  a  grateful  people,  moved  by  a  common  impulse,  imme 
diately  placed  him  side  by  side  with  the  immortal  Washington,  and  unanimously 


ORATION   ON   LINCOLN.  251 

proclaimed  them  the  two  greatest  and  best  Americans.  That  verdict  has  not 
changed,  and  will  not  change,  nor  can  we  conceive  how  the  historians  of  this  or 
any  age  will  ever  determine  what  is  so  clearly  a  matter  of  pure  personal  opinion 
as  to  which  of  these  noble  men  is  entitled  to  greatest  honor  and  homage  from 
the  people  of  America. 

A  recent  writer  says:  "The  amazing  growth  Lincoln  made  in  the  esteem  of 
his  countrymen  and  the  world,  while  he  was  doing  his  great  work,  has  been 
paralleled  by  the  increase  of  his  fame  in  the  years  since  he  died."  He  might 
have  addeS  that,  like  every  important  event  of  his  life,  Lincoln's  fame  rests  upon 
a  severer  test  than  that  of  any  other  American.  Never,  in  all  the  ages  of  men, 
have  the  acts,  words,  motives — even  thoughts — of  any  statesman  been  so  scru 
tinized,  analyzed,  studied  or  speculated  upon  as  his.  Yet  from  all  inquirers, 
without  distinction  as  to  party,  church,  section  or  country,  from  friend  and  from 
foe  alike,  comes  the  unanimous  verdict  that  Abraham  Lincoln  must  have  no 
second  place  in  American  history,  and  that  he  never  will  be  second  to  any  in  the 
reverent  affections  of  the  American  people. 

Says  the  gifted  Henry  Watterson,  in  a  most  beautiful,  truthful  and  eloquent 
tribute  to  the  great  emancipator:  "Born  as  lowly  as  the  son  of  God,  reared  in 
penury  and  squalor,  with  no  gleam  of  light  nor  fair  surroundings,  it  was  reserved 
for  this  strange  being,  late  in  life,  without  name  or  fame,  or  seeming  prepara 
tion,  to  be  snatched  from  obscurity,  raised  to  supreme  command  at  a  supreme 
moment,  and  intrusted  with  the  destiny  of  a  nation.  Where  did  Shakspere  get 
his  genius?  Where  did  Mozart  get  his  music?  Whose  hand  smote  the  lyre  of 
the  Scottish  plowman  and  staid  the  life  of  the  German  priest?  God  alone,  and 
as  surely  as  these  were  raised  by  God,  inspired  of  God  was  Abraham  Lincoln;  and 
a  thousand  years  hence  no  story,  no  tragedy,  no  epic  poem  will  be  filled  with 
greater  wonder  than  that  which  tells  of  his  life  and  death.  If  Lincoln  was  not 
inspired  of  God,  then  there  is  no  such  thing  on  earth  as  special  providence  or  the 
interposition  of  divine  power  in  the  affairs  of  men." 

My  fellow-citizens,  a  noble  manhood,  nobly  consecrated  to  man,  never  dies. 
The  martyr  to  liberty,  the  emancipator  of  a  race,  the  savior  of  the  only  free 
government  among  men,  may  be  buried  from  human  sight,  but  his  deeds  will 
live  in  human  gratitude  forever. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 


MAJOR  McKINLEY  was  born  February  26,  1844,  in  the  manufacturing  town  of 
Niles,  Trumbull  county,  Ohio,  not  far  from  Youngstown.  It  was  a  hamlet  then, 
and  the  family  residence  was  a  modest  and  comfortable  frame  house.  The  boy  William 
entered  the  village  school  when  five  years  of  age,  and  later  on  took  up  his  studies  in  the 
town  of  Poland,  to  which  his  parents  had  moved,  in  order  that  the  children  might  avail 
themselves  of  better  educational  facilities.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  Allegheny 
College.  His  studies  were  soon  interrupted  by  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  The  slight,  pale- 
faced,  gray-eyed  and  patriotic  young  student  flung  aside  his  books  and  decided  to  shoulder 
a  musket  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  mustered 
out  as  captain  and  brevet-major  of  the  same  regiment  in  which  he  had  enlisted.  He 
read  law,  and  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Stark  county,  and  held  that  position 
for  some  years.  While  at  Canton  he  won  the  heart  of  Miss  Saxon,  the  daughter  of  a 
local  newspaper  publisher,  and  the  two  were  married. 

Major  McKinley  was  first  elected  to  Congress  in  1876,  and  was  re-elected  two  and  four 
years  after.  In  1882,  he  received  the  certificate  of  election,  but  the  vote  was  close,  and  his 
opponent,  Jonathan  Wallace,  was  seated.  He  again  entered  the  lists  in  1884,  with  suc 
cess,  and  continued  in  Congress  until  1890.  After  his  defeat  in  the  congressional  election 
of  1890,  Major  McKinley  turned  his  attention  from  national  to  state  politics.  He  became 
the  candidate  of  Ohio  Republicans  for  the  office  of  governor.  So  general  was  the  favor 
able  sentiment  that  there  was  no  opposition  to  his  nomination.  The  triumphant  election 
which  followed  is  a  matter  of  common  history.  In  1893,  he  was  again  elected  to  serve  as 
the  state's  chief  executive. 

253 


"OH!  WHY  SHOULD  THE  SPIRIT  OF  MORTAL  BE  PROUD?' 

LINCOLN'S  FAVORITE  POEM. 

Oh!  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud? — 
Like  a  swift-fleeing  meteor,  a  fast-flying  cloud, 
A  flash  of  the  lightning,  a  break  of  the  wave, 
He  passeth  from  life  to  his  rest  in  the  grave. 

The  leaves  of  the  oak  and  the  willow  shall  fade, 

Be  scattered  around  and  together  be  laid ; 

And  the  young  and  the  old,  and  the  low  and  the  high, 

Shall  moulder  to  dust  and  together  shall  lie. 

The  infant,  a  mother  attended  and  loved ; 
The  mother,  that  infant's  affection  who  proved ; 
The  husband,  that  mother  and  infant  who  blest, — 
Each,  all,  are  away  to  their  dwellings  of  rest. 

The  maid  on  whose  cheek,  on  whose  brow,  in  whose  eyes> 
Shone  beauty  and  pleasure — her  triumphs  are  by, 
And  the  memory  of  those  who  loved  her  and  praised, 
Are  alike  from  the  minds  of  the  living  erased. 

The  hand  of  the  king,  that  the  scepter  hath  borne, 
The  brow  of  the  priest,  that  the  miter  hath  worn, 
The  eye  of  the  sage  and  the  heart  of  the  brave, 
Are  hidden  and  lost  in  the  depths  of  the  grave. 

The  peasant,  whose  lot  was  to  sow  and  to  reap, 
The  herdsman,  who  climbed  with  his  goats  up  the  steep, 
The  beggar,  who  wandered  in  search  of  his  bread, 
Have  faded  away  like  the  grass  that  we  tread. 

The  saint,  who  enjoyed  the  communion  of  heaven, 
The  sinner,  who  dared  to  remain  unforgiven, 
The  wise  and  the  foolish,  the  guilty  and  just, 
Have  quietly  mingled  their  bones  in  the  dust. 

So  the  multitude  goes — like  the  flower  or  the  weed, 
That  withers  away  to  let  others  succeed  ; 
So  the  multitude  comes — even  those  we  behold, 
To  repeat  every  tale  that  has  often  been  told  ; 

254 


LINCOLN'S  FAVORITE  POEM.  255 

For  we  are  the  same  our  fathers  have  been ; 
We  see  the  same  sights  our  fathers  have  seen  ; 
We  drink  the  same  stream,  we  view  the  same  sun, 
And  run  the  same  course  our  fathers  have  run. 

The  thoughts  we  are  thinking,  our  fathers  would  think ; 
From  the  death  we  are  shrinking,  our  fathers  would  shrink; 
To  the  life  we  are  clinging,  they  also  would  cling — 
But  it  speeds  from  us  all,  like  the  bird  on  the  wing. 

They  loved— but  the  story  we  cannot  unfold ; 
They  scorned— but  the  heart  of  the  haughty  is  cold  ; 
They  grieved — but  no  wail  from  their  slumber  will  come ; 
They  joyed — but  the  tongue  of  their  gladness  is  dumb. 

They  died — ay,  they  died — we  things  that  are  now, 
That  walk  on  the  turf  that  lies  over  their  brow, 
And  make  in  their  dwellings  a  transient  abode, 
Meet  the  things  that  they  met  on  their  pilgrimage  road. 

Yea !  hope  and  despondency,  pleasure  and  pain, 
Are  mingled  together  in  sunshine  and  rain ; 
And  the  smile  and  the  tear,  the  song  and  the  dirge, 
Still  follow  each  other,  like  surge  upon  surge. 

'Tis  the  wink  of  an  eye — 'tis  the  draught  of  a  breath, 
From  the  blossom  of  health  to  the  paleness  of  death ; 
From  the  gilded  saloon  to  the  bier  and  the  shroud : — 
Oh !  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud  ? 

— Alexander  Knox. 


TRIBUTES  TO   LINCOLN. 


A  statesman  of  the  school  of  sound  common  sense,  and  a  philanthropist  of 
the  most  practical  type,  a  patriot  without  a  superior,  his  monument  is  a  country 
preserved. — C.  S.  Harrington. 

He  ascended  the  mount  where  he  could  see  the  fair  fields  and  the  smiling 
vineyards  of  the  promised  land.  But,  like  the  great  leader  of  Israel,  he  was  not 
permitted  to  come  to  the  possession. — Seth  Sweetser. 

At  the  moment  when  the  stars  of  the  Union,  sparkling  and  resplendent  with 
the  golden  fires  of  liberty,  were  waving  over  the  subdued  walls  of  Richmond,  the 
sepulcher  opens,  and  the  strong,  the  powerful  enters  it. — Sr.  Rebello  da  Siha. 

By  his  steady,  enduring  confidence  in  God,  and  in  the  complete  ultimate 
success  of  the  cause  of  God,  which  is  the  cause  of  humanity,  more  than  in  any 
other  way  does  he  now  speak  to  us,  and  to  the  nation  he  loved  and  served  so 
well.— P.  D.  Gurleij. 

Now  all  men  begin  to  see  that  the  plain  people,  who  at  last  came  to  love  him 
and  to  lean  upon  his  wisdom,  and  trust  him  absolutely,  were  altogether  right,  and 
that  in  deed  and  purpose  he  was  earnestly  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole 
country,  and  of  all  its  inhabitants. — JR.  B.  Hayes. 

Abraham  Lincoln  mastered  the  problem  committed  to  his  hands.  He  felt  that 
he  was  acting  not  merely  for  a  single  hour,  but  for  all  time.  The  question  for 
decision  was,  "Whether  this  nation,  or  any  other  nation,  conceived  in  liberty, 
and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  are  equal,  can  long  endure." — George 
W.  Briygs. 

The  g.rave  that  receives  the  remains  of  Lincoln  receives  the  costly  sacrifice  to 
the  Union;  the  monument  which  will  rise  over  his  body  will  bear  witness  to  the 
Union;  his  enduring  memory  will  assist  during  countless  ages  to  bind  the  states 
together,  and  to  incite  to  the  love  of  our  one  undivided,  indivisible  country.— 
George  Bancroft. 

9  257 


258  TRIBUTES  TO  LINCOLN. 

A  man  of  great  ability,  pure  patriotism,  unselfish  nature,  full  of  forgiveness 
to  his  enemies,  bearing  malice  toward  none,  he  proved  to  be  the  man  above  all 
others  for  the  struggle  through  which  the  nation  had  to  pass  to  place  itself 
among  the  greatest  in  the  family  of  nations.  His  fame  will  grow  brighter  as 
time  passes  and  his  great  work  is  better  understood. —  U.  S.  Grant. 

Four  years  ago,  oh,  Illinois!  we  took  him  from  your  midst  an  untried  man 
from  among  the  people.  Behold,  we  return  him  a  mighty  conqueror.  Not 
thine,  but  the  nation's;  not  ours,  but  the  world's!  Give  him  peace,  ye  prairies! 
In  the  midst  of  this  great  continent  his  dust  shall  rest,  a  sacred  treasure  to 
myriads  who  shall  pilgrim  to  that  s  xrine,  to  kindle  anew  their  zeal  and 
patriotism. — Henry  Ward  Beecher. 

In  his  freedom  from  passion  and  bitterness;  in  his  acute  sense  of  justice;  in 
his  courageous  faith  in  the  right,  and  his  inextinguishable  hatred  of  wrong;  in 
warm  and  heartfelt  sympathy  and  mercy;  in  his  coolness  of  judgment;  in  his 
unquestioned  rectitude  of  intention — in  a  word,  in  his  ability  to  lift  himself  for 
his  country's  sake  above  all  mere  partizanship,  in  all  the  marked  traits  of  his 
character  combined,  he  has  had  no  parallel  since  Washington,  and  while  our 
republic  endures  he  will  live  with  him  in  the  grateful  hearts  of  his  grateful 
countrymen. — ScJt  uyhr  Coif  ax. 

To  him  belongs  the  credit  of  having  worked  his  way  up  from  the  humblest 
position  an  American  freeman  can  occupy  to  the  highest  and  most  powerful, 
without  losing,  in  the  least,  the  simplicity  and  sincerity  of  nature  which 
endeared  him  alike  to  the  plantation  slave  and  the  metropolitan  millionaire. 
The  most  malignant  party  opposition  has  never  been  able  to  call  in  question 
the  patriotism  of  his  motives,  or  tarnish  with  the  breath  of  suspicion  the  bright 
ness  of  his  spotless  fidelity.  Ambition  did  not  warp,  power  corrupt,  nor  glory 
dazzle  him. —  Warren  H.  Cudicorth. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  born,  and,  until  he  became  president,  always  lived  in  a 
part  of  the  country  which,  at  the  period  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  was 
a  savage  wilderness.  Strange  but  happy  Providence  that  a  voice  from  that  savage 
wilderness,  now  fertile  in  men,  was  inspired  to  uphold  the  pledges  and  promises 
of  the  Declaration!  The  unity  of  the  republic  on  the  indestructible  foundation 
of  liberty  and  equality  was  vindicated  by  the  citizens  of  a  community  which  had 
no  existence  when  the  republic  was  formed.  A  cabin  was  built  in  primitive 
rudeness,  and  the  future  president  split  the  rails  for  the  fence  to  inclose  the  lot. 
These  rails  have  become  classical  in  our  history,  and  the  name  of  rail-splitter 
has  been  more  than  the  degree  of  a  college.  Not  that  the  splitter  of  rails  is 
especially  meritorious,  but  because  the  people  are  proud  to  trace  aspiring  talent 
to  humble  beginnings,  and  because  they  found  in  this  tribute  a  new  opportunity 
of  vindicating  the  dignity  of  free  labor. — Charles  S  winner. 


ANECDOTES. 


ANECDOTES. 


LINCOLN'S    REPLY  TO  A  MAN   WHO    KNEW  HOW  TO    PUT    DOWN    THE 

REBELLION. 

During  the  war  a  western  farmer  sought  the  president  day  after  day,  until  he 
procured  the  much-desired  audience.  He  had  a  plan  for  the  successful  prosecu 
tion  of  the  war,  to  which  Mr.  Lincoln  listened  as  patiently  as  he  could.  When 
he  was  through,  he  asked  the  opinion  of  the  president  upon  his  plan.  "  Well,1' 
said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  I'll  answer  by  telling  you  a  story.  You  have  heard  of  Mr. 
Blank,  of  Chicago?  He  was  an  immense  loafer  in  his  way;  in  fact,  never  did 
anything  in  his  life.  One  day  he  got  crazy  over  a  great  rise  in  the  price  of  wheat, 
upon  which  many  wheat  speculators  gained  large  fortunes.  Blank  started  off 
one  morning  to  one  of  the  most  successful  of  the  wheat  speculators,  and  with 
much  enthusiasm,  laid  before  him  a  'plan1  by  which  he,  the  said  Blank,  was 
certain  of  becoming  independently  rich.  When  he  had  finished,  he  asked  the 
opinion  of  his  hearer  upon  his  plan  of  operations.  The  reply  came  as  follows: 
4 My  advice  is  that  you  stick  to  your  business.'  'But,'  asked  Blank, 'what  is 
my  business?'  'I  don't  know,  I'm  sure,  what  it  is,'  says  the  merchant,  'but 
whatever  it  is,  I  would  advise  you  to  stick  to  it!"1  And  now,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln, 
"I  mean  nothing  offensive,  for  I  know  you  mean  well,  but  I  think  you  had  better 
stick  to  your  business,  and  leave  the  war  to  those  who  have  the  responsibility  of 
managing  it!"  Whether  the  farmer  was  satisfied  or  not  is  not  known,  but  he 
did  not  tarry  long  in  the  presidential  mansion. 


HOW  LINCOLN  WAS  LOVED. 

"When  I  have  had  to  address  a  fagged  and  listless  audience,  I  have  found  that 
nothing  was  so  certain  to  arouse  them  as  to  introduce  the  name  of  Abraham 
Lincoln."  So  remarked  Dr.  Newman  Hall,  of  London,  to  me  last  year ;  and  I 
have  had  a  similar  experience  with  American  audiences.  No  other  name  has  such 
electric  power  on  every  true  heart  from  Maine  to  Mexico.  If  Washington  is 
the  most  revered,  Lincoln  is  the  best  loved  man  that  ever  trod  this  continent.— 
Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  D.D. 

261 


262  ANECDOTES. 

HOW   MR.    LINCOLN   TREATED  AN   OLD  KENTUCKY  FRIEND. 

It  was  characteristic  of  Lincoln  that  while  he  did  not  often  refer  to  his  early 
life,  he  seemed  ever  mindful  when  occasion  offered  of  those  who  were  then  his 
associates  and  friends.  A  case  very  aptly  illustrating  this  point  occurred  at  the 
time  the  ranks  of  the  Union  army  were  being  repleted  by  the  operations  of  the 
'•draft  "acts. 

Through  some  technicality  or  other  an  injustice  was  done  that  section  of 
Kentucky  surrounding  the  county  in  which  Lincoln  was  born,  and  several 
counties  were  not  credited  with  the  numbers  of  enlistments  that  had  really  been 
made  from  within  their  borders.  Finally,  Dr.  Jesse  Rodman,  of  Hodgensville, 
prominent  as  a  citizen  and  politician,  was  sent  to  Washington  for  the  purpose  of 
interviewing  President  Lincoln  and  endeavoring  to  have  the  error  corrected. 

Lincoln  received  him  with  the  greatest  cordiality,  and  insisted  that  Dr. 
Rodman  should  remain  several  days  as  a  presidential  guest.  During  this  time 
Lincoln  made  the  fullest  and  most  minute  inquiry  concerning  persons  whom  he 
had  known  in  his  boyhood  life  among  the  Kentucky  hills.  The  desired  relief 
was  also  cheerfully  given  by  the  president. — Mr.  D.  J.  Thomas,  now  of  The 
Voice,  New  York,  late  of  The  New  Era,  Springfield,  Ohio. 

Nothing  so  moved  Lincoln  as  injustice  or  oppression  toward  a  fellow-man. 
During  the  campaign  of  1864,  when  the  president  was  a  candidate  for  re-election, 
and  was  opposed  by  General  George  B.  McClellan,  a  soldier  was  refused  a  pcss 
through  the  lines  to  his  New  York  home  by  some  officious  attache  of  the  army 
because  of  the  fact  that  he  wore  a  McClellan  badge.  Friends  brought  the  matter 
before  the  president,  who  investigated  the  charges,  and  found  that  the  pass  was 
refused  on  the  grounds  named,  beyond  doubt.  The  soldier  was  sent  for  by 
Lincoln,  and  presented  with  a  pass  in  the  president's  own  handwriting,  accom 
panied  by  a  hearty  hand-shake  and  a  "God  bless  you,  my  boy!  Show  them  that ;  it'll 
take  you  home." — D.  J.  Thomas. 


"TOO  CUSSED  DIRTY." 

The  following  story  is  often  told  of  Father  Abraham  about  two  contraband 
servants  of  General  Kelly  and  Captain  George  Harrison:  When  the  general 
and  his  staff  were  on  their  way  up  the  mountains  they  stopped  at  a  little  village 
to  get  something  to  eat.  They  persuaded  the  occupant  of  the  farm-house  to 
cook  them  a  meal,  and  in  order  to  expedite  matters,  sent  the  two  contrabands 
mentioned  to  assist  in  preparing  the  repast.  After  it  was  over  the  general  told 
the  negroes  to  help  themselves.  An  hour  or  two  afterward  he  observed  them 
gnawing  away  at  some  hard  crackers  and  flitch. 

"  Why  didn't  you  eat  your  dinner  at  the  village?"  asked  the  general  of  one 
of  them. 

"Well,  to  tell  the  God's  trufe,  general,  it  was  too  cussed  dirty!"  was  the 
reply. 


ANECDOTES.  263 

"HIT  OR  MISS"  INSTRUCTIONS. 

Some  simple  remark  that  some  of  the  party  might  make  would  remind  Mr. 
Lincoln  of  an  apropos  story.  Mr.  Chase  happened  to  remark,  U0h,  I  am  so  sorry 
that  I  had  to  write  a  letter  to  Mr.  So-and-so  before  I  left  home!"  Mr.  Lincoln 
promptly  responded4  "Chase,  never  regret  what  you  don't  write  ;  it  is  what  you 
do  write  that  you  are  often  called  upon  to  feel  sorry  for." 

Here  is  another:  Mr.  Stanton  said  that  just  before  he  left  Washington  he 
had  received  a  telegram  from  General  Mitchell,  in  Alabama,  asking  instructions 
in  regard  to  a  certain  emergency  that  had  occurred.  The  secretary  said  that  he 
did  not  precisely  understand  the  emergency  as  explained  by  General  Mitchell,  but 
he  had  answered  back,  "All  right;  go  ahead." 

"Now,"  he  said,  "Mr.  President,  if  I  have  made  an  error  in  not  understanding 
him  correctly,  I  will  have  to  get  you  to  countermand  the  order." 

"Well,"  exclaimed  Lincoln,  "that  is  very  much  like  the  occasion  of  a  certain 
horse  sale  I  remember  that  took  place  at  the  cross-roads  down  in  Kentucky  when 
I  was  a  boy.  A  particularly  fine  horse  was  to  be  sold,  and  the  people  gathered 
together.  They  had  a  small  boy  to  ride  the  horse  up  and  down  while  the  specta 
tors  examined  the  horse's  points.  At  last  one  man  whispered  to  the  boy  as  he 
went  by:  '  Look  here,  boy,  hain't  that  horse  got  the  splints?1  The  boy  replied: 
4  Mister,  I  don't  know  what  the  splints  is,  but  if  it  is  good  for  him,  he  has  got  it, 
if  it  ain't  good  for  him,  he  ain't  got  it.'  Now,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "if  this  was 
good  for  Mitchell,  it  was  all  right ;  but  if  it  was  not,  I  have  got  to  countermand 
it." — General  Egbert  L.  Viele,  in  "  Tributes  from  Lincoln's  Associates" 


LINCOLN  AS  A  LAWYER. 

As  a  law}Ter,  according  to  Messrs.  Nicolay  and  Hay,  Mr.  Lincoln,  notwith 
standing  "all  his  stories  and  jests,  his  frank,  companionable  humor,  his  gift  of 
easy  accessibility  and  welcome,  was,  even  while  he  traveled  the  Eighth  circuit,  a 
man  of  grave  and  serious  temper,  and  of  an  unusual  innate  dignity  and  reserve. 
He  had  few  or  no  special  intimates,  and  there  was  a  line  beyond  which  no1  one  ever 
thought  of  passing."  They  thus  describe  him  in  the  court-room: 

"He  seemed  absolutely  at  home  in  the  court-room;  his  great  stature  did  not 
encumber  him  there;  it  seemed  like  a  natural  symbol  of  superiority.  His  bearing 
and  gesticulation  had  no  awkwardness  about  them;  they  were  simply  striking  and 
original.  He  assumed  at  the  start  a  frank  and  friendly  relation  with  the  jury, 
which  was  extremely  effective.  He  usually  began,  as  the  phrase  ran,  by  'giving 
away  his  case;'  by  allowing  to  the  opposite  side  every  possible  advantage  that  they 
could  honestly  and  justly  claim.  Then  he  would  present  his  own  side  of  the  case, 
with  a  clearness,  a  candor,  an  adroitness  of  statement  which  at  once  flattered  and 
convinced  the  jury,  and  made  even  the  bystanders  his  partizans.  Sometimes  he 
disturbed  the  court  with  laughter  by  his  humorous  or  apt  illustrations;  sometimes 
he  excited  the  audience  by  that  florid  and  exuberant  rhetoric  which  he  knew  well 


264  ANECDOTES. 

enough  how  and  when  to  indulge  in;  but  his  more  usual  and  more  successful 
manner  was  to  rely  upon  a  clear,  strong,  lucid  statement,  keeping  details  in 
proper  subordination,  and  bringing  forward,  in  a  way  which  fastened  the  attention 
of  court  and  jury  alike,  the  essential  point  on  which  he  claimed  a  decision. 
4  Indeed,'  says  one  of  his  colleagues,  '  his  statement  often  rendered  argument 
unnecessary,  and  often  the  court  would  stop  him,  and  say:  "If  that  is  the  caser 
we  will  hear  the  other  side." ' 

Judge  David  Davis  said  of  him: 

"The  framework  of  his  mental  and  moral  being  was  honesty,  and  a  wrong 
cause  was  poorly  defended  by  him." 


A  WITTY  REPLY. 

On  one  occasion  it  is  said  that  some  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  friends  were  talking 
about  him  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  The  conversation  led  to  the  physical  pro 
portions  of  the  respective  men,  and  an  argument  arose  as  to  the  proper  length  of 
a  man's  leg.  During  the  discussion  on  the  subject  Mr.  Lincoln  came  in  and 
quietly  settled  himself,  and  it  was  agreed  that  the  question  should  be  referred  to 
him  for  settlement.  They  told  him  what  they  had  been  talking  about,  and  asked 
him  what,  in  his  opinion,  was  the  proper  length  of  a  man's  leg.  "  Well,"  said 
he,  reflectively,  "I  should  think  that  they  ought  to  be  long  enough  to  reach  from 
his  body  to  the  ground." 


A  LINCOLN    STORY    ABOUT    LITTLE    DAN    WEBSTER'S  SOILED   HANDS- 
HOW  DAN  ESCAPED  A  FLOGGING. 

Mr.  Lincoln  on  one  occasion  narrated  to  Hon.  Mr.  Odell  and  others,  with 
much  zest,  the  following  story  about  young  Daniel  Webster: 

When  quite  young,  at  school,  Daniel  was  one  day  guilty  of  a  gross  violation 
of  the  rules.  He  was  detected  in  the  act,  and  called  up  by  the  teacher  for  pun 
ishment.  This  was  to  be  the  old-fashioned  "feruling"  of  the  hand.  His  hands 
happened  to  be  very  dirty.  Knowing  this,  on  the  way  to  the  teacher's  desk,  he 
spit  upon  the  palm  of  his  right  hand,  wiping  it  off  upon  the  side  of  his  panta 
loons. 

"  Give  me  your  hand,  sir,"  said  the  teacher,  very  sternly. 

Out  went  the  right  hand,  partly  cleansed.  The  teacher  looked  at  it  a  momentr 
and  said: 

"  Daniel,  if  you  will  find  another  hand  in  this  school-room  as  filthy  as  thatr 
I  will  let  you  off  this  time! " 

Instantly  from  behind  the  back  came  the  left  hand.  "  Here  it  is,  sir,"  was 
the  ready  reply. 

"  That  will  do,"  said  the  teacher,  "  for  this  time;  you  can  take  your  seat,  sir.'* 


ANECDOTES.  265 

ADVICE  TO   A  CLIENT. 

To  a  man  who  once  offered  him  a  case,  the  merits  of  which  he  did  not 
appreciate,  he  made,  according  to  his  partner,  Mr.  Herndon,  the  following 
response: 

"Yes,  there  is  no  reasonable  doubt  but  that  I  can  gain  your  case  for  you.  I 
can  set  a  whole  neighborhood  at  loggerheads;  I  can  distress  a  widowed  mother 
and  her  six  fat'herless  children,  and  thereby  get  for  you  six  hundred  dollars, 
which  rightfully  belongs,  it  appears  to  me,  as  much  to  them  as  it  does  to  you.  I 
shall  not  take  your  case,  but  I  will  give  a  little  advice  for  nothing.  You  seem  a 
sprightly,  energetic  man.  I  would  advise  you  to  try  your  hand  at  making  six 
hundred  dollars  in  some  other  way." 


DIFFICULT  BRIDGE-BUILDING. 

u  I  once  knew  a  sound  churchman  by  the  name  of  Brown,  who  was  a  member 
of  a  very  sober  and  pious  committee,  having  in  charge  the  erection  of  a  bridge 
over  a  dangerous  and  rapid  river.  Several  architects  failed,  and  at  last  Brown 
said  he  had  a  friend  named  Jones  who  had  built  several  bridges,  and  undoubtedly 
could  build  that  one.  So  Mr.  Jones  was  called  in.  '  Can  you  build  this  bridge?' 
inquired  the  committee.  '  Yes,1  replied  Jones,  '  or  any  other.  I  could  build  a 
bridge  to  the  infernal  regions,  if  necessary!1  The  committee  were  shocked,  and 
Brown  felt  called  upon  to  defend  his  friend.  '  I  know  Jones  so  well,1  said  he, 
4  and  he  is  so  honest  a  man  and  so  good  an  architect  that  if  he  states  soberly  and 
positively  that  he  can  build  a  bridge  to  —  to  — ,  wrhy,  I  believe  it;  but  I  feel 
bound  to  say  that  I  have  my  doubts  about  the  abutment  on  the  infernal  side.' 
4 So,1  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  'when  politicians  told  me  that  the  northern  and  southern 
wings  of  Democracy  could  be  harmonized,  why,  I  believed  them,  of  course;  but  I 
always  had  my  doubts  about  the  'abutment1  on  the  other  side.1' 


THE  PRESIDENT   ADVISES  SECRETARY   STANTON  TO   PREPARE 

FOR  DEATH. 

Secretary  Stanton,  when  secretary  of  war,  took  a  fancy  one  day  for  a  house 
in  Washington  that  Lamon  had  just  bargained  for.  Lamon  not  only  did  not 
vacate,  but  went  to  Stanton  and  said  he  would  kill  him  if  he  interfered  with  the 
house.  Stanton  was  furious  at  the  threat,  and  made  it  known  at  once  to  Lincoln. 
The  latter  said  to  the  astonished  war  secretary: 

"Well,  Stanton,  if  Ward  has  said  he  will  kill  you,  he  certainly  will,  and  Td 
advise  you  to  prepare  for  death  without  further  delay.11 

The  president  promised,  however,  to  do  what  he  could  to  appease  the  murder 
ous  marshal,  and  this  was  the  end  of  Stanton's  attempt  on  the  house. 


266  ANECDOTES. 

THEY   SAW   PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

The  Chicago  Times-Herald  has  printed  some  reminiscences  of  Lincoln,  com 
municated  by  Gen.  John  McConnell.  He  had  been  a  close  friend  of  Lincoln 
before  the  war.  uHe  was  to  me  a  perfect  being,1'  General  McConnell  declares. 
UI  do  not  know  a  flaw  in  his  character." 

Not  long  after  Lincoln's  election  to  the  presidency,  General  McConnell  was 
with  him  in  his  office  in  the  old  state-house  in  Springfield,  when  a  tall,  lank 
countryman,  with  his  trousers  tucked  into  his  boots,  put  his  head  into  the  doort 
and  asked  to  see  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  was  from  Kansas,  he  explained,  and  with  his 
family  was  going  back  to  Indiana.  He  had  voted  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  wanted  to 
see  him. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  we  are  left  to  suppose,  received  his  unconventional  caller  with 
politeness,  and  presently  the  man  asked  : 

"What  kind  of  a  tree  is  that  below  there  in  the  yard?" 

It  was  a  warm  November  day,  and  the  window  was  open.  Mr.  Lincoln  looked 
out,  and  said  : 

"It  is  a  cypress.  I  suppose  you  would  have  known  it  if  you  had  been  on  the 
ground?" 

"  No.  I  don't  mean  that,"  said  the  countryman.  u  I  mean  the  other  one 
nearer  the  house.  You  will  have  to  lean  farther  out." 

Mr.  Lincoln  leaned  out,  and  then  straightening  up,  he  said  : 

u  There  is  no  other  one." 

"  No?  "said  the  man.  "Well,  do  you  see  that  woman  and  them  three  chil 
dren  over  there  in  that  wagon?  That  is  my  wife  and  children.  I  told  them  I 
would  show  them  the  president-elect  of  the  United  States,  and  I  have.  Goocl- 
by,  Mr.  Lincoln." 

And  so  saying,  he  stalked  down-stairs. 


MR.    LINCOLN'S   KIND-HEARTEDNESS. 

An  incident  connected  with  Mr.  Shultz  illustrates  the  kind-heartedness  of 
Mr.  Lincoln.  On  his  return  from  his  former  imprisonment,  on  parole,  young 
Shultz  was  sent  to  Camp  Parole,  at  Alexander.  Having  had  no  furlough  since 
the  war,  efforts  were  made  without  success  to  get  him  liberty  to  pay  a  brief 
visit  to  his  friends;  but  having  faith  in  the  warm-heartedness  of  the  president, 
the  young  soldier's  widowed  mother  wrote  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  stating  that  he  had 
been  in  nearly  every  battle  fought  by  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  had  never  asked 
a  furlough,  was  now  a  paroled  prisoner,  and  in  consequence  unable  to  perform 
active  duties;  that  two  of  his  brothers  had  also  served  in  the  army,  and  asking 
that  he  be  allowed  to  visit  home,  that  she  might  see  him  once  more.  Her  trust 
in  the  president  was  not  unfounded.  He  immediately  caused  a  furlough  to  be  given 
to  her  son,  who,  shortly  before  he  was  exchanged,  visited  his  family,  to  their 
great  surprise  and  joy. 


ANECDOTES.  267 

MR.   LINCOLN'S  KINDNESS  OF  HEART  TO  THE  DISTRESSED. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  kindness  of  heart  was  known  to  everybody.  Vice-president 
Colfax  says  that  his  doorkeepers  had  "  standing  orders  from  him  that,  no  matter 
how  great  might  be  the  public  throng,  if  either  senators  or  representatives  had 
to  wait,  or  to  be  turned  away  without  audience,  he  must  see  before  the  day  closed 
every  messenger  who  came  to  him  with  a  petition  for  the  saving  of  life." 
Accounts  of  many  such  cases  are  given.  A  woman,  carrying  a  baby,  waited  three 
days  at  the  White  House  to  see  Mr.  Lincoln.  Her  husband,  who  had  sent  a  sub 
stitute,  had  enlisted  subsequently  himself  when  intoxicated,  and  had  deserted 
from  the  army,  and  had  been  caught  and  sentenced  to  be  shot.  On  his  way 
through  the  anteroom  Mr.  Lincoln  heard  the  baby  cry.  uHe  instantly  went  back 
to  his  office  and  rang  the  bell.  '  Daniel,1  said  he,  'is  there  a  woman  with  a  baby 
in  the  anteroom?1  I  said  there  was,  and,  if  he  would  allow  me  to  say  it,  I 
thought  it  was  a  case  he  ought  to  see;  for  it  was  a  matter  of  life  and  death. 
Said  he:  'Send  her  to  me  at  once.1  She  went  in,  told  her  story,  and  the  pres 
ident  pardoned  her  husband.  As  the  woman  came  out  from  his  presence,  her  eyes 
were  lifted  and  her  lips  moving  in  prayer,  the  tears  streaming  down  her  cheeks.'1 
Said  Daniel:  "I  went  up  to  her,  and,  pulling  her  shawl,  said:  'Madam,  it  was 
the  baby  that  did  it!111 


AN  UNPATRIOTIC  CONTRABAND. 

One  of  the  funniest  stories  of  the  war  was  related  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  follows: 

"Upon  the  hurricane-deck  of  one  of  our  gunboats,  an  elderly  darky,  with 
a  very  philosophical  and  retrospective  cast  of  countenance,  squatted  upon  his 
bundle,  toasting  his  shins  against  the  chimney,  and  apparently  plunged  into  a  state 
of  profound  meditation.  Finding  upon  inquiry  that  he  belonged  to  the  Ninth 
Illinois,  one  of  the  most  gallantly  behaved  and  heavy  losing  regiments  at  the  Fort 
Donelson  battle,  and  part  of  which  was  aboard,  I  began  to  interrogate  him  upon 
the  subject: 

" ;  Were  you  in  the  fight? ' 

'"Had  a  little  taste  of  it,  sa.' 

'"Stood  your  ground,  did  you?' 

'"No,  sa,  I  runs.1 

'"Run  at  the  first  fire,  did  you?' 

" '  Yes,  sa,  and  would  hab  run  soona,  had  I  knowd  it  war  cominV 

'"  Why,  that  wasn't  very  creditable  to  your  courage.' 

;"Dat  isn't  my  line,  sa — cookin's  my  profeshun.1 

'"Well,  but  have  you  no  regard  for  your  reputation?' 

"'Reputation's  nuifin  to  me  by  de  side  ob  life.' 

u'  Do  you  consider  your  life  worth  more  than  other  people's?' 

" '  It's  worth  more  to  me,  sa.' 

'"Then  you  must  value  it  very  highly?' 


268  ANECDOTES. 

'"Yes,  sa,  I  doas,  more  dan  all  dis  wtild,  more  dan  a  millian  ob  dollars,  sa,  for 
what  would  dat  be  wuth  to  a  man  wid  de  bref  out  ob  him?  Self-preserbation  am 
de  fust  law  wid  me.' 

utBut  why  should  you  act  upon  a  different  rule  from  other  men?1 

"'  Because  different  men  set  different  values  upon  their  lives;  mine  is  not  in  de 
market.' 

'"But  if  you  lost  it,  you  would  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  you  died 
for  your  country.' 

"'What  satisfaction  would  dat  be  to  me,  when  de  power  ob  feelin'  was  gone?' 

'•'Then  patriotism  and  honor  are  nothing  to  you?' 

'* '  Nufin  whatever,  sa — I  regard  them  as  amo-ng  the  vanities.' 

'"If  our  soldiers  were  like  you,  traitors  might  have  broken  up  the  government 
without  resistance.' 

'"Yes,  sa,  dar  would  hab  been  no  help  for  it.  I  wouldn't  put  my  life  in  de 
scale  'ginst  any  gobernment  dat  eber  existed,  for  no  gobernment  could  replace  de 
loss  to  me.' 

'"Do  you  think  any  of  your  company  would  have  missed  you  if  you  had  been 
killed?' 

'"Maybe  not,  sa — a  dead  white  man  ain't  much  to  dese  sogers,  let  alone  a  dead 
nigga — but  I'd  a  missed  myself,  and  dat  was  de  pint  wid  me." 


LINCOLN   AND   COLONEL   WELLER. 

Weller  was  at  Washington  settling  his  accounts  as  minister  to  Mexico.  After 
their  adjustment  he  concluded  to  pay  his  respects  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  with  whom  he 
had  served  in  Congress.  He  called  at  the  presidential  mansion,  and  was  cour 
teously  received. 

"Mr.  President,"  said  Colonel  Weller,  "I  have  called  on  you  to  say  that  I 
most  heartily  indorse  the  conservative  position  you  have  assumed,  and  will  stand 
by  you  as  long  as  you  prosecute  the  war  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union  and 
the  Constitution." 

''Colonel  Weller,"  said  the  president,  "I.  am  heartily  glad  to  hear  you 
say  this." 

"Yes,  Mr.  President,"  said  Weller,  "I  desire  an  appointment  to  aid  in  this 
work." 

"What  do  you  want,  colonel?"  asked  Abraham. 

"  I  desire  to  be  appointed  commodore  in  the  navy"  said  Weller. 

The  president  replied: 

"  Colonel,  I  did  not  think  you  had  any  experience  as  a  sailor." 

"I  never  had,  Mr.  President,1'  said  Weller;  "but  judging  from  the  brigadier- 
generals  you  have  appointed  in  Ohio,  the  less  experience  a  man  has,  the  higher 
position  he  attains. " 

Lincoln  turned  off  with  a  hearty  laugh,  and  said:     "I  owe  you  one,  colonel!" 


ANECDOTES.  269 

JUDGE  SHELLABARGER  AND  MR.   LINCOLN. 

Hon.  Samuel  Shellabarger  (of  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  a  native  of  Springfield, 
Ohio),  whose  congressional  service  covered  President  Lincoln's  years  in  the 
White  House,  speaks  of  a  visit  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  giving  this  incident : 

UI,  like  many  other  members  of  Congress,  did  not  see  Mr.  Lincoln  often, 
because  we  felt  that  he  was  overwhelmed  with  the  burdens  of  the  hour,  and  people 
giving  him  no  rest.  But  a  young  man  in  the  army,  Ben  Tappan,  wanted  a 
transfer  from  the  volunteer  service  to  the  regular  service,  retaining  his  rank  of 
lieutenant,  and  with  staff  duty.  There  was  some  regulation  against  such  trans 
fer  ;  but  Tappan's  stepfather,  Frank  Wright,  of  Ohio,  thought  it  could  be  done. 
He  had  been  to  Secretary  Stanton,  who  was  an  uncle  of  young  Tappan  by  mar 
riage,  and  on  account  of  this  so-called  relationship  the  secretary  declined  to  act 
in  the  matter.  Wright  and  I  therefore  went  up  to  the  WThite  House  to  see  the 
president  about  it.  After  talking  it  over,  Mr.  Lincoln  told  a  story,  ihe  applica 
tion  of  which  was  that  the  army  was  getting  to  be  all  staff  and  no  army,  there  was 
such  a  rush  for  staff  duty  by  young  officers.  However,  he  looked  over  Lieutenant 
Tappan's  paper,  heard  what  Secretary  Stanton  had  told  us  about  his  delicacy  in 
transferring  Lieutenant  Tappan  against  the  regulation  because  of  the  .relation 
ship  by  marriage.  Then  Mr.  Lincoln  wrote  across  the  application  something  like 
the  following  indorsement: 

" Lieutenant  Tappan,  of  -  — •  regiment,  volunteers,  desires  a  transfer  to  — 
regiment,  regular  service,  and  assigned  to  staff  duty  with  present  rank.     If  the 
only  objection  to  this  transfer  is  Lieutenant  Tappan's   relationship  to  the  sec 
retary  of  war,  that  objection  is  overruled. 

"A.  LINCOLN. 

"This,  of  course,  threw  the  responsibility  of  breaking  the  regulation  on 
Secretary  Stanton.  We  never  heard  anything  more  about  the  transfer." 


DWIGHT  L.   MOODY'S  STORY  OF  LINCOLN'S  COMPASSION. 

"During  the  war,1'  says  D  wight  L.  Moody,  the  world's  great  evangelist,  "I 
remember  a  young  man,  not  twenty,  who  was  court-martialed  at  the  front  and 
sentenced  to  be  shot.  The  story  was  this: 

"  The  young  fellow  had  enlisted.  He  was  not  obliged  to,  but  he  went  off 
with  another  young  man.  They  were  what  we  call  'chums.' 

"One  night  his  companion  was  ordered  out  on  picket  duty,  and  he  asked  the 
young  man  to  go  for  him.  The  next  night  he  was  ordered  out  himself;  and 
having  been  awake  two  nights,  and  not  being  u?ed  to  it,  fell  asleep  at  his  post, 
and  for  the  offense  he  was  tried  and  sentenced  to  death.  It  was  right  after  the 
order  issued  by  the  president  that  no  interference  would  be  allowed  in  cases  of 
this  kind.  This  sort  of  thing  had  become  too  frequent,  and  it  must  be  stopped. 

"  When  the  news  reached  the  father  and  mother  in  Vermont,  it  nearly  broke 


270  ANECDOTES. 

their  hearts.  The  thought  that  their  son  should  be  shot  was  too  great  for  them. 
They  had  no  hope  that  he  could  be  saved  by  anything  that  they  could  do. 

"  But  they  had  a  little  daughter  who  had  read  the  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
and  knew  how  he  loved  his  own  children,  and  she  said: 

" '  If  Abraham  Lincoln  knew  how  my  father  and  mother  loved  my  brother,  he 
wouldn't  let  him  be  shot.' 

"The  little  girl  thought  this  matter  over,  and  made  up  her  mind  to  see  the 
president. 

"She  went  to  the  White  House,  and  the  sentinel,  when  he  saw  her  imploring 
looks,  passed  her  in;  and  when  she  came  to  the  door  and  told  the  private  secretary 
that  she  wanted  to  see  the  president,  he  could  not  refuse  her.  She  came  into  the 
chamber  and  found  Abrahajn  Lincoln  surrounded  by  his  generals  and  counselors; 
and  when  he  saw  the  little  country  girl,  he  asked  her  what  she  wanted. 

"The  little  maid  told  her  plain,  simple  story — how  her  brother,  whom  her 
father  and  mother  loved  very  dearly,  had  been  sentenced  to  be  shot;  how  they 
were  mourning  for  him,  and  if  he  was  to  die  in  that  way  it  would  break  their 
hearts. 

"  The  president's  heart  was  touched  with  compassion,  and  he  immediately 
sent  a  dispatch  canceling  the  sentence  and  giving  the  boy  a  parole  so  that  he 
could  come  home  and  see  his  father  and  mother.  I  just  tell  you  this  to  show 
you  how  Abraham  Lincoln^s  heart  was  moved  by  compassion  for  the  sorrow  of 
that  father  and  mother;  and  if  he  showed  so  much,  do  you  think  the  Son  of  God 
will  not  have  compassion  upon  you,  sinner,  if  you  only  take  that  crushed,  bruised 
heart  to  him?" 


A  CHARACTERISTIC  LETTER, 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  October  17,  1861. 
MAJOR  RAMSEY. 

My  Dear  Sir: — The  lady — bearer  of  this — says  she  has  two  sons  who  want 
to  work.  Set  them  at  it,  if  possible.  Wanting  to  work  is  so  rare  a  merit  that  it 
should  be  encouraged.  A.  LINCOLN. 


LINCOLN'S  PRIVATE  SECRETARY  IS  WITTY. 

The  private  secretary  of  the  presidest  was  a  wag.  A  young  man  decidedly 
inebriated  walked  into  the  executive  mansion  and  asked  for  the  president. 

"What  do  you  want  with  him?"  inquired  the  secretary. 

"  Oh,  I  want  an  office  with  a  good  salary — a  sinecure." 

"Well,"  replied  the  secretary,  "I  can  tell  you  something  better  for  you  than 
a  sinecure — you  had  better  try  icater  cure." 

A  new  idea  seemed  to  strike  the  young  inebriate,  and  he  vamoosed. 


ANECDOTES.  271 

ANTICIPATIONS  OF  A  HAPPY  SECOND  TERM. 

The  Hon.  Henry  Wilson,  whe  was  on  the  ticket  with  General  Grant  in  his 
second  campaign,  as  vice-president,  says  that  on  the  day  before  his  death  the  pres 
ident  said  to  his  wife: 

"We  have  had  a  hard  time  together  since  we  came  to  Washington;  but  now 
the  war  is  over,  and  with  God's  blessing  upon  us,  we  may  hope  for  four  years  of 
happiness,  and  then  we  will  go  back  to  Illinois  and  pass  the  remainder  of  our 
lives  in  peace." 

HOW  A  SENTENCE  WAS  IMPROVED. 

On  another  occasion  the  public  printer  called  the  president's  attention  to  a 
sentence  in  one  of  his  messages  which  he  thought  awkwardly  constructed.  The 
president  acknowledged  the  point  of  the  criticism,  and  said:  "Go  home,  Defreest 
and  see  if  you  can  better  it."  The  next  day  Mr.  Defrees  took  in  to  him  his 
amendment.  Mr.  Lincoln  met  him  by  saying:  "  Seward  found  the  same  fault 
that  you  did,  and  he  has  been  rewriting  the  paragraph  also."  Then,  reading  Mr. 
Defrees' version,  he  said:  UI  believe  you  have  beat  Seward;  but, 'I  jings'  [a 
common  expression  with  him],  I  think  I  can  beat  you  both."  Then,  taking  up 
his  pen,  he  wrote  the  sentence  as  it  was  finally  printed. 


THE  PRESIDENT  SHAKING  HANDS  WITH  WOUNDED  REBELS. 

A  correspondent  who  was  with  the  president  on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  to 
Frederick,  Maryland,  tells  the  following  incident: 

"After  leaving  General  Richardson,  the  party  passed  a  house  in  which  were  a 
Iarg3  number  of  Confederate  wounded.  By  request  of  the  president,  the  party 
alighted  and  entered  the  building.  Mr.  Lincoln,  after  looking,  remarked  to  the 
wounded  Confederates  that  if  they  had  no  objection  he  would  be  pleased  to  take 
them  by  the  hand.  He  said  the  solemn  obligations  which  we  owe  to  our  country 
and  posterity  compel  the  prosecution  of  this  war,  and  it  followed  that  many 
were  our  enemies  through  uncontrollable  circumstances,  and  he  bore  them  no 
malice,  and  could  take  them  by  the  hand  with  sympathy  and  good  feeling. 
After  a  short  silence  the  Confederates  came  forward  and  each  silently  but  fer 
vently  shook  the  hand  of  the  president.  Mr.  Lincoln  and  General  McClellan 
then  walked  forward  by  the  side  of  those  who  were  wounded  too  severely  to  be 
able  to  arise,  and  bid  them  to  be  of  good  cheer,  assuring  them  that  every  possible 
care  should  be  bestowed  upon  them  to  ameliorate  their  condition.  It  was  a 
moving  scene,  and  there  was  not  a  dry  eye  in  the  building,  either  among  the 
Nationals  or  Confederates.  Both  the  president  and  General  McClellan  were 
kind  in  their  remarks  and  treatment  of  the  rebel  sufferers  during  this  remarkable 
interview. 


272  ANECDOTES. 

LINCOLN  AND  THE  COLORED  TROOPS. 

General  Grant  intended  that  the  army  under  Sherman,  at  Chattanooga,  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  under  Meade,  and  the  Army  of  the  James,  under  Butler, 
should  move  at  the  same  time.  General  Burnside  was  at  Annapolis,  in  Maryland, 
with  the  Ninth  Corps,  numbering  nearly  30,000  men.  He  was  directed,  to  march 
to  Washington,  and  from  there  to  the  Rapidan,  to  co-operate  with  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac. 

Down  Pennsylvania  avenue  comes  Burnside's  troops,  turning  up  Fourteenth 
street,  where  the  president  stands  upon  a  balcony  to  review  them.  Some  of  the 
veterans  have  fought  at  Bull  Run,  Ball's  Bluff,  Roanoke,  Newbern,  in  front  of 
Richmond,  Antietam,  Gettysburg,  Knoxville.  The  flags  which  they  carry  are  in 
tatters,  but  they  are  the  dearest  things  on  earth  to  the  men  keeping  step  to  the 
drum-beat.  There  is  the  steady  tramping  of  the  men,  the  deep,  heavy  jar  of  gun- 
carriages,  clattering  of  horses1  hoofs,  clanking  of  sabers.  General  Burnside  and 
the  president,  standing  side  by  side,  look  down  upon  the  serried  ranks.  The 
lines  are  deepening  in  the  face  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  He  is  pale  and  care-worn. 
The  soldiers  behold  him,  swing  their  hats,  and  hurrah  A  division  of  veterans 
pass,  and  then,  with  full  ranks,  the  platoons  extending  the  entire  width  of  the 
street,  come  brigades  which  have  never  been  in  battle — men  who  have  come  at 
the  call  of  their  country  to  lay  down  their  lives  on  the  battle-field.  Their 
country!  They  never  had  a  country  till  that  pale  man  on  the  balcony  gave 
them  one.  They  never  were  men  till  he  made  them  such.  They  were  slaves; 
he  made  them  freemen.  They  have  been  chattels — things;  now  they  are  owners 
of  themselves — citizens — soldiers  of  the  republic.  Never  before  have  they 
beheld  their  benefactor.  "Hurrah  for  Uncle  Abe!  Hurrah  for  Mars  Linkum!" 
No  cheers  like  theirs.  It  is  the  spontaneous  outburst  from  grateful  hearts. 
Yes;  in  return  for  what  he  has  done  for  them  and  for  their  race  will  they  fight 
to  the  death  I— Coffin. 


TAD'S. REBEL  FLAG. 

One  of  the  prettiest  incidents  in  the  closing  days  of  the  civil  war  occurred 
when  the  [troops,  "marching  home  again,"  passed  in  grand  form,  if  with  well- 
worn  uniforms  and  tattered  bunting,  before  the  White  House,  says  Harper's 
Young  People. 

Naturally,  an  immense  crowd  had  assembled  on  the  streets,  the  lawns,  porches, 
balconies  and  windows,  even  those  of  the  executive  mansion  itself  being  crowded 
to  excess.  A  central  figure  was  that  of  the  president,  Abraham  Lincoln,  who, 
with  bared  head,  unfurled  and  waved  our  nation's  flag  in  the  midst  of  lusty 
cheers. 

But  suddenly  there  was  an  unexpected  sight. 

A  small  boy  leaned  forward  and  sent  streaming  to  the  air  the  banner  of  the 
boys  in  gray.  It  was  an  old  flag  which  had  been  captured  from  the  Confederates, 


ANECDOTES.  273 

which  the  urchin,  the  president's  second  son,  Tad,  had  obtained  possession  of 
and  considered  an  additional  triumph  to  unfurl  on  this  all-important  day. 

Vainly  did  the  servant  who  had  followed  him  to  the  window  plead  with  him 
to  desist.  No,  Master  Tad,  the  pet  of  the  White  House,  was  not  to  be  prevented 
from  adding  to  the  loyal  demonstration  of  the  hour. 

To  his  surprise,  however,  the  crowd  viewed  it  differently.  Had  it  floated  from 
any  other  window  in  the  Capitol  that  day,  no  doubt  it  would  have  been  the  target 
of  contempt  and  abuse  ;  but  when  the  president,  understanding  what  had  hap 
pened,  turned,  with  a  smile  on  his  grand,  plain  face,  and  showed  his  approval  by 
a  gesture  and  expression,  cheer  after  cheer  rent  the  air. 

It  was,  surely  enough,  the  expression  of  peace  and  good  will  which,  of  all  our 
commanders,  none  was  better  pleased  to  promote  than  our  commander-in-chief. 

In  response  to  a  letter  of  inquiry  by  the  author  of  this  book  to  Hon.  Robert 
T.  Lincoln  (formerly  secretary  of  war,  and  minister  to  England)  concerning 
"  Tad,"  Mr.  Lincoln  replied  as  follows: 

60  LAKE  SHORE  DRIVE,  CHICAGO,  20th  December,  1895. 

MY  DEAR  SIR: — In  reply  to  your  inquiry,  my  brother  Thomas  died  OD  July  15, 1871, 
.from  an  illness  resulting  from  a  cold. 

Very  sincerely  yours,  ROBERT  T.  LINCOLN. 


AN  ENGLISH  PORTRAIT  OF  MR,   LINCOLN. 

To  say  that  he  is  ugly  is  nothing;  to  add  that  his  figure  is  grotesque  is  to 
convey  no  adequate  impression.  Fancy  a  man  six  feet  high,  and  then  out  of 
proportion;  with  long,  bony  arms  and  legs,  which  somehow  seem  to  be  always  in 
the  way;  with  great,  rugged,  furrowed  hands,  which  grasp  you  like  a  vise  when 
shaking  yours;  with  a  long,  snaggy  neck,  and  a  chest  too  narrow  for  the  great 
arms  at  its  side.  Add  to  this  figure  a  head  cocoanut-shaped  and  somewhat  too 
small  for  such  a  stature,  covered  with  rough,  uncombed  and  uncombable  hair, 
that  stands  out  in  every  direction  at  once;  a  face  furrowed,  wrinkled  and  indented, 
as  though  it  had  been  scarred  by  vitriol;  a  high,  narrow  forehead;  and  sunk  deep 
beneath  bushy  eyebrows,  two  bright,  dreamy  eyes,  that  seem  to  gaze  through  you 
without  looking  at  you;  a  few  irregular  blotches  of  black,  bristly  hair  in  the 
place  where  beard  and  whiskers  ought  to  grow;  a  close-set,  thin-lipped,  stern 
mouth,  with  two  rows  of  large  white  teeth,  and  a  nose  and  ears  which  have  been 
taken  by  mistake  from  a  head  of  twice  the  size.  Clothe  this  figure,  then,  in  a 
long,  tight,  badly  fitting  suit  of  black,  creased,  soiled,  and  puckered  up  at  every 
salient  point  of  the  figure  (and  every  point  of  this  figure  is  salient),  put  on  large, 
ill-fitting  boots,  gloves  too  long  for  the  long,  bony  fingers,  and  a  fluffy  hat, 
covered  to  the  top  with  dusty,  puffy  crape;  and  then  add  to  this  an  air  of  strength, 
physical  as  well  as  moral,  and  a  strange  look  of  dignity  coupled  with  all  this 
grotesqueness,  and  you  will  have  the  impression  left  upon  me  by  Abraham 
Lincoln. 


274  ANECDOTES. 

AN   AMERICAN'S   PORTRAIT. 

In  character  and  culture  lie  is  a  fair  representative  of  the  average  American. 
His  awkward  speech  and  yet  more  awkward  silence,  his  uncouth  manners,  self- 
taught  and  partly  forgotten,  his  style  miscellaneous,  concreted  from  the  best 
authors,  like  a  reading  book,  and  yet  oftentimes  of  Saxon  force  and  classic  purity; 
his  argument,  his  logic  a  joke,  both  unseasonable  at  times  and  irresistible  always; 
his  questions  answers,  and  his  answers  questions;  his  guesses  prophecies,  and 
fulfillment  ever  beyond  his  promise;  honest  yet  shrewd;  simple  yet  reticent; 
heavy  yet  energetic;  never  despairing,  never  sanguine;  careless  in  forms,  con 
scientious  in  essentials;  never  sacrificing  a  good  servant  once  trusted;  never 
deserting  a  good  principle  once  adopted;  not  afraid  of  new  ideas,  nor  despising 
old  ones;  improving  opportunities  to  confess  mistakes,  ready  to  learn,  getting  at 
facts,  doing  nothing  when  he  knows  not  what  to  do;  hesitating  at  nothing  when 
he  sees  the  right;  lacking  the  recognized  qualifications  of  a  party  leader,  and 
leading  his  party  as  no  other  man  can;  sustaining  his  political  enemies  in  Missouri 
in  their  defeat,  sustaining  his  political  friends  in  Maryland  in  their  victory ;  conser 
vative  in  his  sympathies  and  radical  in  his  acts;  Socratic  in  his  style  and  Baconian 
in  his  method;  his  religion  consisting  in  truthfulness,  temperance;  asking  good 
people  to  pray  for  him,  and  publicly  acknowledging  in  events  the  hand  of  God, 
yet  he  stands  before  you  as  the  type  of  ''Brother  Jonathan,"  a  not  perfect  rnanr 
and  yet  more  precious  than  fine  gold. 


LINCOLN'S  FIRST    CONVICTIONS  OF   WAR— HIS   GREAT   SADNESS. 

The  Hon.  Leonard  Swett,  in  an  address  before  the  Union  Veteran  Club,  at 
Chicago,  gives  the  following  interesting  reminiscence: 

I  remember  well  the  first  time  that  the  belief  that  war  was  inevitable  took 
hold  of  Lincoln's  mind.  Some  time  after  the  election  Lincoln  asked  me  to  write 
a  letter  to  Thurlow  Weed  to  come  to  Springfield  and  consult  with  him  (Lincoln). 
Mr.  Weed  came,  and  he,  the  president-elect  and  myself  had  a  meeting,  in  which 
Lincoln  for  the  first  time  acknowledged  that  he  was  in  possession  of  facts  that 
showed  that  the  South  meant  wrar. 

These  facts  consisted  of  the  steps  which  the  disaffected  states  were  taking  to 
spirit  away  the  arms  belonging  to  the  government,  and,  taking  them  into  con 
sideration,  Lincoln  was  forced  to  the  belief  that  his  administration  was  to  be  one 
of  blood. 

As  he  made  this  admission,  his  countenance  rather  than  his  words  demon 
strated  the  sadness  which  it  occasioned,  and  he  wanted  to  know  if  there  was  not 
some  way  of  avoiding  the  disaster.  He  felt  as  if  he  could  not  go  forward  to  an 
era  of  war,  and  these  days  were  to  him  a  sort  of  forty  days  in  the  wilderness, 
passed  under  great  stress  of  doubt,  and,  perhaps  to  him,  of  temptations  of  weak 
ness.  Finally,  however,  he  seemed  quietly  to  put  on  the  armor  and  prepare  him 
self  for  the  great  responsibility  and  struggle  before  him. 


ANECDOTES.  275 

A  MIDNIGHT  PARDON. 

A  congressman  who  heard  that  a  friend  of  his  in  the  army  had  been  court- 
martialed  and  sentenced  to  be  shot,  failing  to  move  Secretary  Stanton  to  grant  a 
pardon,  rushed  to  the  White  House  late  at  night,  after  the  president  had  retired, 
and  forced  his  way  to  the  president's  bedroom,  and  earnestly  besought  his  inter 
ference,  exclaiming,  earnestly: 

"  This  man  must  not  be  shot,  Mr.  Lincoln.     I  cannot  allow  him  to  be  shot !  " 

"  Well,"  said  the  president  in  reply,  "I  do  not  believe  shooting  will  do  him 
any  good.  Give  me  that  pen." 

And  so  the  pardon  was  granted. 


LINCOLN  ON  BAYONETS. 

"  You  can't  do  anything  with  them  southern  fellows,"  the  old  gentleman  at 
the  table  was  saying.  "If  they  get  whipped,  they'll  retreat  to  them  southern 
swamps  and  bayous  along  with  the  fishes  and  crocodiles.  You  haven't  got  the  fish 
nets  made  that'll  catch  'em." 

"Look  here,  old  gentleman!"  screamed  Old  Abe,  who  was  sitting  alongside, 
*l  we've  got  just  the  nets  for  traitors,  in  the  bayous  or  anywhere.' 

uHey?     What  nets?" 

"Bayou-nets!"  and  Abraham  pointed  his  joke  with  a  fork,  spearing  a  fish- 
ball  savagely. 


LINCOLN   AGREEABLY   DISAPPOINTED. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  as  the  highest  public  officer  of  the  nation,  was  necessarily  very 
much  bored  by  all  sorts  of  people  calling  upon  him. 

An  officer  of  the  government  called  one  day  at  the  White  House,  and  intro 
duced  a  clerical  friend. 

"  Mr.  President,"  said  he,  "  allow  me  to  present  to  you  my  friend,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  F.,  of .  Mr.  F.  has  expressed  a  desire  to  see  you  and  have  some  conversa 
tion  with  you,  and  I  am  happy  to  be  the  means  of  introducing  him." 

The  president  shook  hands  with  Mr.  F.,  and  desiring  him  to  be  seated,  took 
a  seat  himself.  Then,  his  countenance  having  assumed  an  air  of  patient  waiting, 
he  said: 

u  I  am  now  ready  to  hear  what  you  have  to  say." 

U0h,  bless  you,  sir,"  said  Mr.  F.,  "I  have  nothing  especially  to  say;  I  merely 
called  to  pay  my  respects  to  you,  and,  as  one  of  the  millions,  to  assure  you  of  my 
hearty  sympathy  and  support." 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  the  president,  rising  promptly,  his  face  showing  instant 
relief,  and  with  both  hands  grasping  that  of  his  visitor,  "I  am  very  glad  to  see 
you,  indeed.  I  thought  you  had  come  to  preach  to  me!  " 


276  ANECDOTES. 

HOW  LINCOLN    ILLUSTRATED  WHAT   MIGHT  BE  DONE   WITH 

JEFF.   DAVIS. 

One  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  stories  was  told  to  a  party  of  gentlemen,  who, 
the  tumbling  ruins  of  the  Confederacy,  anxiously  asked  "  what  he  would  do  with 
Jeff.  Davis:  "  * 

"There  was  a  boy  in  Springfield,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln,  "who  saved  up  his 
money  and  bought  a  'coon,'  which,  after  the  novelty  wore  off,  became  a  great 
nuisance. 

"He  was  one  day  leading  him  through  the  streets,  and  had  his  hands  full  to 
keep  clear  of  the  little  vixen,  who  had  torn  his  clothes  half  off  of  him.  At 
length  he  sat  down  on  the  curbstone,  completely  fagged  out.  A  man  passing 
was  stopped  by  the  lad's  disconsolate  appearance,  and  asked  the  matter. 

"  'Oh,'  was  the  only  reply,  'this  coon  is  such  a  trouble  to  me.' 

" '  Why  don't  you  get  rid  of  him,  then?'  said  the  gentleman. 

"'Hush!'  said  the  boy;  'don't  you  see  he  is  gnawing  his  rope  off?  I  am 
going  to  let  him  do  it,  and  then  I  will  go  home  and  tell  the  folks  that  he  got 
away  from  me! '  " 


LINCOLN  UNDER  FIRE. 

Leaving  the  ditch,  my  pass  carried  me  into  the  fort,  where,  to  my  surprise,  I 
found  the  president,  Secretary  Stanton  and  other  civilians.  A  young  colonel  of 
artillery,  who  appeared  to  be  the  officer  of  the  day,  was  in  great  distress  because 
the  president  would  expose  himself,  and  paid  little  attention  to  his  warnings. 
He  was  satisfied  the  Confederates  had  recognized  him,  for  they  were  firing  at  him 
very  hotly,  and  a  soldier  near  him  had  just  fallen  with  a  broken  thigh.  He  asked 
my  advice,  for  he  said  the  president  was  in  great  danger. 

"  What  would  you  do  with  me  under  like  circumstances?"  I  asked. 
"  I  would  civilly  ask  you  to  take  a  position  where  you  were  not  exposed." 
"And  if  I  refused  to  obey  ?  " 

"  I  would  send  a  sergeant  and  a  file  of  men,  and  make  you  obey." 
"  Then  treat  the  president  just  as  you  would  me  or  any  civilian." 
"  I  dare  not.     He  is  my  superior  officer;  I  have  taken  oath  to  obey  his  orders." 
"  He  has  given  you  no  orders.     Follow  my  advice,  and  you  will  not  regret  it." 
"I  will,"  he  said.     "I  may  as  well  die  for  one  thing  as  another.     If  he  were 
shot,  I  should  hold  myself  responsible." 

He  walked  to  where  the  president  was  looking  over  the  parapet.  "Mr.  Pres 
ident,"  he  said,  "you  are  standing  within  range  of  five  hundred  rebel  rifles. 
Please  come  down  to  a  safer  place.  If  you  do  not,  it  will  be  my  duty  to  call  a 
file  of  men,  and  make  you." 

"And  you  would  do  quite  right,  my  boy!"  said  the  president,  coming  down 
at  once.  "  You  are  in  command  of  this  fort.  I  should  be  the  last  man  to  set  an 
example  of  disobedience!" — L.  E.  Chittenden's  "Recollections" 


ANECDOTES.  277 

"PRING  UP  DE   SHACK  ASSES,  FOR  COT  SAKE!" 

President  Lincoln  often  laughed  over  the  following  incident:  One  of  General 
Fremont's  batteries  of  eight  Parrot  guns,  supported  by  a  squadron  of  horses  com 
manded  by  Major  Richards,  was  in  a  sharp  conflict  with  a  battery  of  the  enemy 
near  at  hand,  and  shells  and  shot  were  flying  thick  and  fast,  when  the  com 
mander  of  the  battery,  a  German,  one  of  Fremont's  staff,  rode  suddenly  up  to  the 
cavalry,  exclaiming,  in  loud  and  excited  terms,  "  Pring  up  de  shackasses,  pring 
up  de  shackasses,  for  Cot  sake,  hurry  up  de  shackasses  im-me-di-ate-ly!"  The 
necessity  of  this  order,  though  not  quite  apparent,  will  be  more  obvious  when  it 
is  remembered  that  the  "shackasses"  are  mules,  carrying  mountain  howitzers, 
which  are  fired  from  the  backs  of  that  much-abused  but  valuable  animal;  and 
the  immediate  occasion  for  the  "  shackasses "  was  that  two  regiments  of  rebel 
infantry  were  at  that  moment  discovered  descending  a  hill  immediately  behind 
our  batteries.  The  "  shackasses,"  with  the  howitzers  loaded  with  grape  and 
canister,  were  soon  on  the  ground.  The  mules  squared  themselves,  as  they  well 
knew  how,  for  the  shock.  A  terrific  volley  was  poured  into  the  advancing 
column,  which  immediately  broke  and  retreated.  Two  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  dead  bodies  were  found  in  the  ravine  next  day,  piled  closely  together  as 
they  fell,  the  effects  of  that  volley  from  the  backs  of  the  ''shackasses.1' 


TWO   OF   LINCOLN'S  LAW-CASES. 

At  Clinton  there  was  so  interesting  a  case  that  men  and  women  from  all  the 
surrounding  country  crowded,  the  court-room.  Fifteen  women  were  arraigned. 
A  liquor-seller  persisted  in  selling  whisky  to  their  husbands  after  the  wives 
begged  him  not  to  do  so.  He  cared  nothing  for  their  protestations,  but  laughed 
in  their  faces.  The  tears  upon  their  cheeks  did  not  move  him.  What  should 
they  do?  There  was  no  law  to  stop  him.  They  marched  to  the  groggery, 
smashed  in  the  heads  of  the  barrels  with  axes,  and  broke  the  demijohns  and 
bottles.  The  fellow  had  them  arrested.  No  lawyer  volunteered  to  defend  them. 
Abraham  Lincoln,  from  Springfield,  entered  the  room.  There  was  something 
about  him  which  emboldened  them  to  speak  to  him. 

"  We  have  no  one  to  defend  us.  Would  it  be  asking  too  much  to  inquire  if 
you  can  say  a  kind  word  in  our  behalf?  "  the  request. 

The  lawyer  from  Springfield  rises.  All  eyes  are  upon  him.  "May  it  please 
the  court,  I  will  say  a  few  words  in  behalf  of  the  women  who  are  arraigned 
before  your  honor  and  the  jury.  I  would  suggest,  first,  that  there  be  a  change 
in  the  indictment,  so  as  to  have  it  read,  'The  State  against  Mr.  Whisky,'  instead 
of  'The  State  against  the  Women.'  It  would  be  far  more  appropriate.  Touch 
ing  this  question,  there  are  three  laws:  First,  the  law  of  self-protection;  second, 
the  law  of  the  statute;  third,  the  law  of  God.  The  law  of  self -protection  is  the 
law  of  necessity,  as  shown  when  our  fathers  threw  the  tea  into  Boston  harbor, 
and  in  asserting  their  right  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  This 


278  ANECDOTES. 

is  the  defense  of  these  women.  The  man  who  has  persisted  in  selling  whisky 
has  had  no  regard  for  their  well-being  or  the  welfare  of  their  husbands  and  sons. 
He  has  had  no  fear  of  God  or  regard  for  man;  neither  has  he  had  any  regard  for 
the  laws  of  the  statute.  No  jury  can  fix  any  damages  or  punishment  for  any 
violation  of  the  moral  law.  The  course  pursued  by  this  liquor-dealer  has  been 
for  the  demoralization  of  society.  His  groggery  has  been  a  nuisance.  These 
women,  finding  all  moral  suasion  of  no  avail  with  this  fellow,  oblivious  to  all 
tender  appeal,  alike  regardless  of  their  prayers  and  tears,  in  order  to  protect 
their  households  and  promote  the  welfare  of  the  community,  united  to  sup 
press  the  nuisance.  The  good  of  society  demanded  its  suppression.  They 
accomplished  what  otherwise  could  not  have  been  done." 

There  was  no  need  for  him  to  say  more.  The  whole  case  had  been  stated,  and 
the  jury  understood  it. 

"Ladies,"  said  the  judge,  uyou  need  not  remain  any  longer  in  court  unless 
you  desire  to  do  so.  I  will  require  no  bond  of  you ;  and  if  there  should  be  any  fine 
imposed,  I  will  give  you  notice."  The  judge  was  so  polite  and  smiling  that 
everybody  in  the  room  understood  that  there  was  no  probability  of  a  fine.— 
William  H.  Herndon. 

Mr.  Cass  had  a  case  in  court.  He  owned  two  yoke  of  oxen  and  a  breal\ing-up 
plow  which  he  wanted  to  sell,  and  which  Mr.  Snow's  two  sons  bought,  giving 
their  note  in  payment.  Neither  of  the  boys  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  manhood. 
Mr.  Cass  trusted  that  they  would  pay  the  note  when  it  became  due;  but  it  was 
not  paid.  Abraham  Lincoln  questioned  a  witness: 

uCan  you  tell  me  where  the  oxen  are  now?"  he  asked. 

"  They  are  on  the  farm  where  the  boys  have  been  plowing." 

"Have  you  seen  them  lately?" 

u  I  saw  them  last  week." 

"How  old  are  the  boys  now?  " 

u  One  is  a  little  over  twenty-one,  and  the  other  is  nearly  twenty-three." 

"They  were  both  under  age  when  the  note  was  given?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  That  is  all." 

"Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  I  do  not  think  that  those  boys  would  have  tried  to 
cheat  Mr.  Cass  out  of  his  oxen  but  for  the  advice  of  their  counsel.  It  was  bad 
advice  in  morals  and  in  law.  The  law  never  sanctions  cheating,  and  a  lawyer 
must  be  very  smart  indeed  to  twist  the  law  so  that  it  will  sanction  fraud.  The 
judge  will  tell  you  what  your  own  sense  of  justice  has  already  told  you — that  if 
those  boys  were  mean  enough  to  plead  the  baby  act  when  they  came  to  be  men, 
they  at  least  ought  to  have  taken  the  oxen  and  plow  back  to  Mr.  Cass.  They 
ought  to  know  that  they  cannot  go  back  on  their  contract  and  also  keep  what 
the  note  was  given  for." 

So  plain  the  case  the  jury,  without  leaving  their  seats,  rendered  a  verdict,  and 
the  young  men  were  obliged  to  pay  for  the  oxen  and  plow,  besides  learning  a 
wholesome  lesson. — C.  C.  Coffin. 


ANECDOTES.  279 

NO  MERCY  FOR  THE   MAN-STEALER. 

Hon.  John  B.  Alley,  of  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  was  made  the  bearer  to  the 
president  of  a  petition  for  pardon  of  a  person  confined  in  the  Newburyport  jail 
for  being  engaged  in  the  slave  trade.  He  had  been  sentenced  to  five  years1 
imprisonment  and  the  payment  of  a  fine  of  one  thousand  dollars.  The  petition 
was  accompanied  by  a  letter  to  Mr.  Alley,  in  which  the  prisoner  acknowledged 
his  guilt  and  the  justice  of  his  sentence.  He  was  very  penitent — at  least  on 
paper — and  had  received  the  full  measure  of  his  punishment,  so  far  as  it  related 
to  the  term  of  his  imprisonment;  but  he  was  still  held  because  he  could  not  pay 
his  fine.  Mr.  Alley,  who  was  much  moved  by  the  pathetic  appeals  of  the  letter, 
read  it  to  the  president,  who,  when  he  had  himself  read  the  petition,  said: 

u  My  friend,  that  is  a  very  touching  appeal  to  our  feelings.  You  know  my 
weakness  is  to  be,  if  possible,  too  easily  moved  by  appeals  for  mercy,  and  if 
this  man  were  guilty  of  the  foulest  murder  that  the  arm  of  man  could  perpetrate, 
I  might  forgive  him  on  such  an  appeal;  but  the  man  who  could  go  to  Africa,  and 
rob  her  of  her  children,  and  sell  them  into  interminable  bondage,  with  no  other 
motive  than  that  which  is  furnished  by  dollars  and  cents,  is  so  much  worse  than 
the  most  depraved  murderer  that  he  can  never  receive  pardon  at  my  hands.  No! 
He  may  rot  in  jail  before  he  shall  have  liberty  by  any  act  of  mine." 

A  sudden  crime,  committed  under  strong  temptation,  was  venial  in  his  eyes, 
on  evidence  of  repentance;  but  the  calculating,  mercenary  crime  of  man-stealing 
and  man-selling,  with  all  the  cruelties  that  are  essential  accompaniments  to 
the  business,  could  win  from  him,  as  an  officer  of  the  people,  no  pardon. 


LINCOLN'S  CUTTING  REPLY   TO  THE   CONFEDERATE  COMMISSION. 

At  a  so-called  " peace  conference,"  procured  by  the  voluntary  and  irrespon 
sible  agency  of  Mr.  Francis  P.  Blair,  which  was  held  on  the  steamer  River  Queen, 
in  Hampton  Roads,  on  February  3,  1865,  between  President  Lincoln  and  Mr. 
Seward,  representing  the  government,  and  Messrs.  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  J.  A. 
Campbell  and  Mr.  Hunter,  representing  the  rebel  confederacy,  Mr.  Hunter  replied 
that  the  recognition  of  Jeff  Davis1  power  was  the  first  and  indispensable  step  to 
peace;  and  to  illustrate  his  point,  he  referred  to  the  correspondence  between 
King  Charles  I.  and  his  Parliament,  as  a  reliable  precedent  of  a  constitutional 
ruler  treating  with  rebels.  Mr.  Lincoln's  face  wore  that  indescribable  expresssion 
which  generally  preceded  his  hardest  hits;  and  he  remarked: 

'•Upon  questions  of  history  I  must  refer  you  to  Mr.  Seward,  for  he  is  posted 
in  such  things,  and  I  don't  profess  to  be;  but  my  only  distinct  recollection  of 
the  matter  is  that  Charles  lost  his  head!" 

Mr.  Hunter  remarked,  on  the  same  occasion,  that  the  slaves,  always  accus 
tomed  to  work  upon  compulsion  under  an  overseer,  would,  if  suddenly  freed,  pre 
cipitate  not  only  themselves,  but  the  entire  society  of  the  South,  into  irremediable 


280  ANECDOTES. 

ruin.  No  work  would  be  done,  but  black  and  white  would  starve  together.  The 
president  waited  for  Mr.  Seward  to  answer  the  argumeait,  but  as  that  gentleman 
hesitated,  he  said: 

"Mr.  Hunter,  you  ought  to  know  a  great  deal  better  about  the  matter  than  I, 
for  you  have  always  lived  under  the  slave  system.  I  can  only  say,  in  reply  to 
your  statement  of  the  case,  that  it  reminds  me  of  a  man  out  in  Illinois,  by  the 
name  of  Case,  who  undertook,  a  few  years  ago,  to  raise  a  very  large  herd  of  hogs. 
It  was  a  great  trouble  to  feed  them,  and  how  to  get  around  this  was  a  puzzle  to 
him.  At  length  he  hit  upon  the  plan  of  planting  an  immense  field  of  potatoes, 
and,  when  they  were  sufficiently  grown,  he  turned  the  whole  herd  into  the  field 
and  let  them  have  full  swing,  thus  saving  not  only  the  labor  of  feeding  the  hogs, 
but  also  of  digging  the  potatoes!  Charmed  with  his  sagacity,  he  stood  one  day 
leaning  against  the  fence,  counting  his  hogs,  when  a  neighbor  came  along: 

u  'Well,  well,'  said  he,  'Mr.  Case,  this  is  very  fine.  Your  hogs  are  doing  very 
well  just  now;  but  you  know  out  here  in  Illinois  the  frost  comes  early,  and  the 
ground  freezes  a  foot  deep.  Then  what  are  they  going  to  do? ' 

"  This  was  a  view  of  the  matter  which  Mr.  Case  had  not  taken  into  account. 
Butchering-time  for  hogs  was  away  on  in  December  or  January.  He  scratched 
his  head,  and  at  length  stammered: 

" '  Well,  it  may  come  pretty  hard  on  their  snouts,  but  I  don't  see  but  it  will 
be  root  hog  or  die!'  " 

ONE   OF  LINCOLN'S  LAST  STORIES. 

One  of  the  last  stories  heard  from  Mr.  Lincoln  was  concerning  John  Tyler,  for 
whom  it  was  to  be  expected  he  would  entertain  no  great  respect. 

"A  year  or  two  after  Tyler's  accession  to  the  presidency,"  said  he,  "  contem 
plating  an  excursion  in  some  direction,  his  son  went  to  order  a  special  train  of 
cars.  It  so  happened  that  the  railroad  superintendent  was  a  very  strong  Whig. 
On  Bob's  making  known  his  errand,  that  official  bluntly  informed  him  that 
his  road  did  not  run  any  special  trains  for  the  president. 

"'What!'  said  Bob,  'did  you  not  furnish  a  special  train  for  the  funeral  of 
General  Harrison?1 

u'Yes,'  said  the  superintendent,  stroking  his  whiskers;  'and  if  you  will  only 
bring  your  father  here  in  that  shape  you  shall  have  the  best  train  on  the  road!" 
— McClure's  "Stories and  Speeches" 


SUFFICIENT  CAUSE  FOR  A  FURLOUGH. 

President  Lincoln  received  the  following  pertinent  letter  from  an  indignant 
private,  which  speaks  for  itself:  "Dear  President:— I  have  been  in  the  service 
eighteen  months,  and  I  have  never  received  a  cent.  I  desire  a  furlough  for 
fifteen  days,  in  order  to  return  home  and  remove  my  family  to  the  poorhouse." 
The  president  granted  the  furlough.  It's  a  good  story,  and  true. 


ANECDOTES.  281 

RECOLLECTIONS  OF  THE  WAR  PRESIDENT  BY  JUDGE  WILLIAM 
JOflXSTON,   OF  CINCINNATI. 

"I  rendered,"  said  Judge  Johnston,  u  Mr.  Lincoln  some  service  in  my  time. 
When  I  went  to  Washington  I  observed  that  among  congressmen  and  others 
in  high  places  Mr.  Lincoln  had  very  few  friends.  Montgomery  Blair  was  the 
only  one  I  heard  speak  of  him  for  a  second  term. 

"This  was  about  the  middle  of  his  first  administration.  I  went  to  Washing 
ton  by  way  of  Columbus,  and  Governor  Tod  asked  me  to  carry  a  verbal  message 
to  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  that  was  to  tell  him  that  there  were  certain  elements  indis 
pensable  to  the  success  of  the  war  that  would  be  seriously  affected  by  any  inter 
ference  with  McClellan.  I  suppose  that  the  liberal  translation  of  Tod's  language 
would  be  thus: 

"4I  am  keeping  the  Democratic  soldiers  in  the  field,  and  if  McClellan  is 
interfered  with,  I  shall  not  be  able  to  do  it.'  We  all  felt  some  trouble  about  it. 
McClellan  had  been  relieved,  and  one  bright  moonlight  night  I  saw  a  regiment, 
I  suppose  Pennsylvanians  mostly,  marching  from  the  Capitol  down  Pennsylvania 
avenue,  yelling  at  the  top  of  their  lungs,  'Hurrah  for  Little  Mac!'  and  making 
a  pause  before  the  White  House,  they  kept  up  that  bawling  and  hurrahing  for 
McClellan. 

"I  went  to  see  Mr.  Lincoln  early  next  morning,  and  asked  him  if  he  had 
witnessed  the  performance  on  the  previous  night.  He  said  he  had.  I  asked  him 
what  he  thought  of  it.  He  said  it  was  very  perplexing.  I  told  him  I  had  come 
to  make  a  suggestion.  I  told  him  I  would  introduce  him  to  a  young  man  of  fine 
talents  and  liberal  education,  who  had  lost  an  arm  in  the  service,  and  I  wanted  him 
to  tell  one  of  his  Cabinet  ministers  to  give^that  young  man  a  good  place  in  the 
civil  service,  and  to  avail  himself  of  the  occasion  to  declare  that  the  policy  of 
the  administration  was,  whenever  the  qualifications  were  equal,  to  give  those  who 
had  been  wounded  or  disabled  in  the  service  of  the  country  the  preference  in  the 
civil  department. 

"  He  said  it  was  an  idea  he  would  like  to  think  of,  and  asked  me  how  soon  I 
would  wait  upon  him  in  the  morning.  I  said  any  hour;  and  I  went  at  seven 
o'clock,  and  found  him  in  the  hands  of  a  barber. 

"Says  he,  ;I  have  been  thinking  about  your  proposition,  and  I  have  a  ques 
tion  to  ask  you.  Did  you  ever  know  Colonel  Smith,  of  Rockford,  Illinois?' 

"I  said  I  had  an  introduction  to  him  when  attending  to  the  defense  of  Gov 
ernor  Bebb. 

"  lYou  know,'  said  he,  '  that  he  was  killed  at  Vicksburg;  that  his  head  was 
carried  off  by  a  shell.  He  was  postmaster,  and  his  wife  wants  the  place,1  and  he 
inquired  if  that  would  come  up  to  my  idea;  and  thereupon  he  and  I  concocted  a 
letter — I  have  the  correspondence  in  my  possession — to  Postmaster-general 
Blair,  directing  him  to  appoint  the  widow  of  Colonel  Smith  postmistress,  in  the 
room  of  her  deceased  husband,  who  had  fallen  in  battle,  and  stating  that  in 
consideration  of  what  was  due  to  the  men  who  were  fighting  our  battles,  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  that  the  families  of  those  who  had  fallen  and  those  disabled 


282  ANECDOTES. 

in  the  service,  their  qualifications  being  equal,  should  always  have  a  preference 
in  the  civil  services. 

UI  told  him  that  I  was  not  personally  acquainted  with  Mr.  Blair,  and  he  gave 
m3  a  note  of  introduction  to  him,  with  the  letter.  I  told  Blair  that  I  proposed 
to  take  a  copy  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  letter,  which  he  then  had  made  out  by  the  clerk. 
I  took  the  letter  to  the  Chronicle  office  in  Washington,  in  which  paper  it  was 
published,  and  the  next  morning  I  jumped  into  an  ambulance  and  went  to  the 
convalescing  camp,  where  there  were  about  7,000  convalescents,  a  great  many  of 
them  Ohio  men,  and  when  I  made  my  appearance,  they  called  on  me  for  a  speech. 
I  got  upon  a  terrace  and  made  them  a  few  remarks,  and  coming  around  to  the  old 
saw,  'that  republics  are  always  ungrateful,'  I  told  them  I  could  not  vouch 
for  the  republic,  but  I  thought  I  could  vouch  for  the  chief  man  at  the  head  of 
the  administration,  and  he  had  already  spoken  oil  that  subject;  and  when  I  read 
Lincoln's  letter,  the  boys  flung  their  hats  into  the  air,  and  made  the  welkin  ring 
for  a  long  while. 

"  I  hurried  back  to  the  city,  and  with  a  pair  of  shears  cut  out  Lincoln's 
letter,  and  then  attached  some  editorial  remarks,  and  that  letter  went  the 
rounds,  and,  I  believe,  was  published  in  nearly  every  friendly  newspaper  in  the 
United  States. 

"About  that  time  Congress  passed  a  resolution  to  the  same  effect,  that  those 
disabled  in  the  military  service  of  the  country,  wherever  qualified,  ought  to  have 
a  preference  over  others.  This  may  have  been  a  small  matter,  but  it  made  a 
marvelous  impression  on  the  army." 


A   "HEN-PECKED"   HUSBAND. 

When  General  Phelps  took  possession  of  Ship  island,  near  New  Orleans, 
early  in  the  war,  it  will  be  remembered  that  he  issued  a  proclamation,  somewrhat 
bombastic  in  tone,  freeing  the  slaves.  To  the  surprise  of  many  people  on  both 
sides,  the  president  took  no  official  notice  of  this  movement.  Some  time  had 
elapsed,  when  one  day  a  friend  took  him  to  task  for  his  seeming  indifference  on  so 
important  a  matter. 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "I  feel  about  that  a  good  deal  as  a  man  whom  I 
will  call  Jones,  whom  I  once  knew,  did  about  his  wife.  He  was  one  of  your 
meek  men,  and  had  the  reputation  of  being  badly  hen-pecked.  At  last,  one  day 
his  wife  was  seen  switching  him  out  of  the  house.  A  day  or  two  afterward  a 
friend  met  him  in  the  street  and  said: 

'"Jones,  I  have  always  stood  up  for  you,  as  you  know;  but  I  am  not  going  to 
do  it  any  longer.  Any  man  who  will  stand  quietly  and  take  a  switching  from 
his  wife,  deserves  to  be  horse-whipped.' 

u  Jones  looked  up  with  a  wink,  patting  his  friend  on  the  back. 

t;t  No  w,  don't,'  said  he;  'why,  it  didn't  hurt  me  any,  and  you've  no  idea  what 
a  power  of  good  it  did  Sarah  Ann.' " 


ANECDOTES.  283 

SHE  WAS  SORRY  SHE  DID  IT. 

A  secesh  lady  of  Alexandria,  who  was  ordered  away  into  Dixie  by  the  govern 
ment,  destroyed  all  her  furniture  and  cut  down  her  trees,  so  that  the  "  cursed 
Yankees "  should  not  enjoy  them.  Lincoln,  hearing  of  this,  the  order  was 
countermanded,  and  she  returned  to  see  in  her  broken  penates  the  folly  of  her 
conduct. 


LINCOLN  AND   GRANT— MARCH  9,    1864. 

General  Grant  never  had  met  the  president,  but  was  on  his  way  to  Washington 
in  obedience  to  a  summons.  The  Cabinet,  Mr.  Stanton  and  E.  B.  Washburne 
were  in  the  White  House  when  he  entered. 

"  General  Grant,1'  said  the  president,  "  the  nation's  appreciation  of  what  you 
have  done,  and  its  reliance  upon  you  for  what  remains  to  be  done  in  the  existing 
struggle,  are  now  presented  with  this  commission,  constituting  you  lieutenant- 
general  in  the  army  of  the  United  States.  With  this  high  honor  devolves  upon 
you  a  corresponding  responsibility.  As  the  country  trusts  in  you,  so,  under  God, 
it  will  sustain  you.  I  scarcely  need  add  that  with  what  I  here  speak  for  the 
nation  goes  my  own  hearty  personal  concurrence." 

The  words  were  spoken  with  trembling  lips,  so  deep  the  feeling  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 

"Mr.  President,11  General  Grant  replied,  "  I  accept  the  commission  for  the  high 
honor  conferred.  With  the  aid  of  the  noble  armies  that  have  fought  on  so  many 
fields  of  our  common  country,  it  will  be  my  earnest  endeavor  not  to  disappoint 
your  expectations.  I  feel  the  full  responsibilities  now  devolving  upon  me;  and 
I  know  that  if  they  are  met  it  will  be  due  to  those  armies,  and,  above  all,  to  the 
favor  of  that  Providence  which  leads  nations  and  men." 

General  Grant  visited  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  at  Culpeper,  and  made  the 
acquaintance  of  General  Meade,  took  a  quiet  look  at  the  soldiers,  and  returned  to 
Washington.  Mrs.  Lincoln  had  prepared  a  grand  dinner  expressly  in  his  honor. 

"Mrs.  Lincoln  must  excuse  me,"  he  said.  UI  must  be  in  Tennessee  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment." 

"But  we  can't  excuse  you,"  said  the  president.  "Were  we  to  sit  down 
without  you  it  would  be  'Hamlet'  with  Hamlet  left  out." 

"I  appreciate  the  honor,  Mr.  President,  but  time  is  very  precious  just  now.  I 
ought  to  be  attending  to  affairs.  The  loss  of  a  day  means  the  loss  of  a  million 
dollars  to  the  country." 

"  Well,  then,  we  shall  be  compelled  to  have  the  dinner  without  the  honor  of 
your  presence,1'  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  they  parted. 

Never  before  had  a  commander  of  any  of  the  armies  pleaded  public  necessity 
for  declining  a  dinner  at  the  White  House;  never  a  commander  so  absorbed  as  was 
General  Grant  in  the  business  of  the  country.  Possibly  the  declination  gave  the 
president  more  pleasure  than  he  would  have  had  from  an  acceptance  of  the 
invitation. — Charles  Carleton  Coffin. 


284  ANECDOTES. 

A  STORY  WHICH  LINCOLN  TOLD  THE   PREACHERS. 

A  year  or  more  before  Mr.  Lincoln's  death,  a  delegation  of  clergymen  waited 
upon  him  in  reference  to  the  appointment  of  the  army  chaplains.  The  delega 
tion  consisted  of  a  Presbyterian,  a  Baptist  and  an  Episcopal  clergyman.  They 
stated  that  the  character  of  many  of  the  chaplains  was  notoriously  bad,  and 
they  had  come  to  urge  upon  the  president  the  necessity  of  more  discretion  in 
these  appointments. 

uBut,  gentlemen,"  said  the  president,  "that  is  a  matter  with  which  the 
government  has  nothing  to  do;  the  chaplains  are  chosen  by  the  regiments." 

Not  satisfied  with  this,  the  clergymen  pressed,  in  turn,  a  change  in  the  system. 
Mr.  Lincoln  heard  them  through  without  remark,  and  then  said: 

"  Without  any  disrespect,  gentlemen,  I  will  tell  you  a  'little  story.' 

"Once,  in  Springfield,  I  was  going  off  on  a  short  journey,  and  reached  the 
depot  a  little  ahead  of  time.  Leaning  against  the  fence  just  outside  the  depot 
was  a  little  darky  boy,  whom  I  knew,  named  Dick,  busily  digging  with  his  toe 
in  a  mud-puddle.  As  I  came  up,  I  said: 

"'Dick,  what  are  you  about?' 

u  '  Making  a  church,'  said  he. 

";A  church?'  said  I.     'What  do  you  mean?' 

"  '  Why,  yes,'  said  Dick,  pointing  with  his  toe,  'don't  you  see  there  is  the  shape 
of  it;  there's  the  steps  and  front  door,  here  the  pews  where  the  folks  set,  and 
there's  the  pulpit.1 

"  'Yes,  I  see,'  said  I;  but  why  don't  you  make  a  minister?' 

"  'Laws,'  answered  Dick,  with  a  grin,  ll  hain't  got  mud  enough!" 


TELLING  A  STORY  AND  PARDONING  A  SOLDIER. 

General  Fisk,  attending  the  reception  at  the  White  House  on  one  occasion, 
saw  waiting  in  the  anteroom  a  poor  old  man  from  Tennessee.  Sitting  down 
beside  him,  he  inquired  his  errand,  and  learned  that  he  had  been  waiting  three  or 
four  days  to  get  an  audience,  and  that  on  his  seeing  Mr.  Lincoln  probably 
depended  the  life  of  his  son,  under  sentence  of  death  for  some  military  offense. 

General  Fisk  wrote  his  case  in  outline  on  a  card,  and  sent  it  in,  with  a  special 
request  that  the  president  would  see  the  man.  In  a  moment  the  order  came;  and 
past  senators,  governors  and  generals,  waiting  impatiently,  the  old  man  went 
into  the  president's  presence. 

He  showed  Mr.  Lincoln  his  papers,  and  he,  on  taking  them,  said  he  would 
look  into  the  case  and  give  him  the  result  on  the  following  day. 

The  old  man,  in  an  agony  of  apprehension,  looked  up  into  the  president's 
sympathetic  face,  and  actually  cried  out: 

"To-morrow  may  be  too  late!  My  son  is  under  sentence  of  death!  The 
decision  ought  to  be  made  now!"  and  the  streaming  tears  told  how  much  he  was 
moved. 


ANECDOTES.  285 

"Come,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "wait  a  bit,  and  I'll  tell  you  a  story;"  and  then  he 
told  the  old  man  General  Fisk's  story  about  the  swearing  driver,  as  fellows: 

The  general  had  begun  his  military  life  as  a  colonel,  and  when  he  raised  his 
regiment  in  Missouri,  he  proposed  to  his  men  that  he  should  do  all  the  swearing 
of  the  regiment.  They  assented;  and  for  months  no  instance  was  known  of  the 
violation  of  the  promise.  The  colonel  had  a  teamster  named  John  Todd,  who, 
as  roads  were  not  always  the  best,  had  some  difficulty  in  commanding  his  temper 
and  his  tongue.  John  happened  to  be  driving  a  mule-team  through  a  series  of 
mud-holes  a  little  worse  than  usual,  when,  unable  to  restrain  himself  any  longer, 
he  burst  forth  into  a  volley  of  energetic  oaths.  The  colonel  took  notice  of  the 
offense,  and  brought  John  to  an  account. 

"John,11  said  he,  "didn't  you  promise  to  let  me  do  all  the  swearing  of  the 
regiment?" 

"Yes,  I  did,  colonel,"  he  replied,  "but  the  fact  was  the  swearing  had  to  be 
done  then  or  not  at  all,  and  you  weren't  there  to  do  it." 

As  he  told  the  story,  the  old  man  forgot  his  boy,  and  both  the  president  and 
his  listener  had  a  hearty  laugh  together  at  its  conclusion.  Then  he  wrote  a  few 
words  which  the  old  man  read,  and  in  which  he  found  new  occasion  for  tears; 
but  the  tears  were  tears  of  joy,  for  the  words  saved  the  life  of  his  son. 


LINCOLN   AS  A   SHAKSPERIAN  CRITIC. 

A  few  days  before  General  Grant  received  his  commission,  F.  B.  Carpenter,  an 
artist,  was  installed  in  the  White  House  to  paint  a  picture  commemorating  the 
signing  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation.  He  became  a  member  of  the  house 
hold,  and  recorded  scenes  in  the  routine  of  the  president's  official  life.  Mr. 
Lincoln  and  the  artist  were  together  one  evening,  when  the  president  turned  from 
his  paper  as  if  weary. 

"Tad,"  he  said  to  his  youngest  son,  "run  to  the  library  and  get  Shakspere." 
He  read  passages  which  had  ever  been  a  delight  to  him.  "  The  opening  of 
Richard  III.,  it  seems  to  me,  is  almost  always  misapprehended,"  he  said.  "  You 
know  the  actor  usually  comes  in  with  a  flourish,  and,  like  a  college  sophomore,  says: 

"  Now  is  the  winter  of  our  discontent 

Made  glorious  summer  by  this  sun  of  York. 

"Now,  this  is  all  wrong.  Richard  had  been,  and  was  then,  plotting  the  destruc 
tion  of  his  brothers  to  make  room  for  himself.  Outwardly,  he  is  most  loyal  to 
the  newly  crowned  king;  secretly,  he  could  scarcely  contain  his  impatience  at  the 
obstacles  still  in  the  way  of  his  own  elevation.  He  is  burning  with  repressed  hate 
and  jealousy.  The  prologue  is  the  utterance  of  the  most  intense  bitterness  and 
satire." 

Mr.  Lincoln  assumed  the  character,  and  recited  the  passage  with  such  force 
that  it  became  a  new  creation  to  the  artist. 


286  ANECDOTES. 

LINCOLN  NOT  AN  IMPROMPTU  SPEAKER. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  a  successful  impromptu  speaker.  He  required  a  little 
time  for  thought  and  arrangement  of  the  thing  to  be  said.  I  give  an  instance 
in  point.  After  my  election  to  the  governorship  of  New  York,  just  before  I 
resigned  my  seat  in  Congress  to  enter  upon  my  official  duties  as  governor  at 
Albany,  New-Yorkers  and  others  in  Washington  thought  to  honor  me  with  a, 
serenade.  I  was  the  guest  of  ex-Mayor  Bowen.  After  the  music  and  speaking 
usual  upon  such  occasions,  it  was  proposed  to  call  on  the  president.  I  accom 
panied  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  proceedings,  followed  by  bands  and  a 
thousand  people.  It  was  full  nine  o'clock  when  we  reached  the  mansion.  The 
president  was  taken  by  surprise,  and  said  he  "didn't  know  just  what  he  could 
say  to  satisfy  the  crowd  and  himself.1'  Going  from  the  library-room  down  the 
stairs  to  the  portico  front,  he  asked  me  to  say  a  few  words  first,  and  give  him,  if 
I  could,  "  a  peg  to  hang  on."  It  was  just  when  General  Sherman  was  en  route 
from  Atlanta  to  the  sea,  and  we  had  no  definite  news  as  to  his  safety  or  where 
abouts.  After  one  or  two  sentences,  rather  commonplace,  the  president  farther 
said  he  had  no  war  news  other  than  was  known  to  all,  and  he  supposed  his 
ignorance  in  regard  to  General  Sherman  was  the  ignorance  of  all;  that  "we  all 
knew  where  Sherman  went  in,  but  none  of  us  knew  where  he  would  come  out." 
This  last  remark  was  in  the  peculiarly  quaint,  happy  manner  of  Mr.  Lincoln, 
and  created  great  applause.  He  immediately  withdrew,  saying  he  "had  raised  a 
good  laugh,  and  it  was  a  good  time  for  him  to  quit."  In  all  he  did  not  speak  more 
than  two  minutes,  and,  as  he  afterward  told  me,  because  he  had  no  time  to  think 
of  much  to  say. — Governor  (and  Senator)  Reuben  E  Fenton,  of  New  York. 


ANOTHER  LAW-CASE. 

/ 
Another  case  was  that  of  a  poor  woman,  nearly  eighty  years  old,  who  came 

with  a  pitiful  story.  Her  husband  had  been  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
under  Washington.  He  was  dead,  and  she  was  entitled  to  a  pension  amounting 
to  $400.  A  rascally  fellow,  pretending  great  friendship  for  her,  had  obtained  the 
money,  but  had  put  half  of  it  into  his  own  pocket. 

The  poor  woman  was  the  only  witness.  The  jury  heard  her  story.  Abraham 
Lincoln  the  while  was  making  the  following  notes  on  a  slip  of  paper: 

"  No  contract. 

"  Not  professional  services. 

"Unreasonable  charges. 

"Money  retained  by  defendant  not  given  to  plaintiff. 

"Revolutionary  war. 

"  Describe  Valley  Forge. 

"Ice.     Soldiers'  bleeding  feet. 

"Husband  leaving  home  for  the  army. 

"  Skin  defendant." 


ANECDOTES.  287 

He  rises  and  turns  to  the  judge.  Of  the  lawyers  sitting  around  the  table 
perhaps  not  one  of  them  can  say  just  what  there  is  about  him  which  hushes  the 
room  in  an  instant.  uMay  it  please  your  honor,"  the  words  are  spoken  slowly, 
as  if  he  were  not  quite  ready  to  go  on  with  what  he  had  to  say,  "gentlemen  of 
the  jury,  this  is  a  very  simple  case,  so  simple  that  a  child  can  understand  it. 
You  have  heard  that  there  has  been  no  contract — no  agreement  by  the  parties. 
You  will  observe  that  there  has  been  no  professional  service  by  contract." 
Slowly,  clearly,  one  by  one  the  points  were  taken  up.  Who  was  the  man  to 
whom  the  government  of  the  United  States  owed  the  money?  He  had  been 
with  Washington  at  Valley  Forge,  barefooted  in  midwinter,  marching  with 
bleeding  feet,  with  only  rags  to  protect  him  from  the  cold,  starving  for  his 
country.  The  speaker's  lips  were  tremulous,  and  his  eyes  filled  with  tears  as  he 
told  how  the  soldiers  of  the  Revolution  marched  amid  the  snows,  shivered  in  the 
wintry  winds,  starved,  fought,  died,  that  those  who  came  after  them  might  have 
a  country.  Judge,  jurymen,  lawyers  and  the  people  who  listen,  wipe  the  tears 
from  their  eyes  as  he  tells  the  story  of  the  soldier  parting  from  friends,  from  the 
wife,  then  in  the  bloom  and  beauty  of  youth,  but  now  friendless  and  alone,  old 
and  poor.  The  man  who  professed  to  be  her  friend  had  robbed  her  of  what  was 
her  due.  His  spirit  is  greatly  stirred.  The  jury  right  the  wrong,  and  compel 
the  fellow  to  hand  over  the  money.  And  then  the  people  see  the  lawyer  who 
has  won  the  case  tenderly  accompanying  the  grateful  woman  to  the  railroad  sta 
tion.  He  pays  her  bill  at  the  hotel,  her  fare  in  the  cars,  and  charges  nothing  for 
what  he  has  done! 


LINCOLN'S   MOST  CONSPICUOUS    VIRTUE. 

The  character  of  Abraham  Lincoln  is  not  yet  known  to  this  generation  as  it 
will  be  to  those  who  shall  live  in  later  centuries.  They  will  see,  as  we  cannot 
yet  perceive,  the  full  maturity  of  his  wisdom  in  its  actual  effects  upon  the 
destinies  of  two  great  races  of  men.  Probably  he  had  an  inadequate  conception 
of  his  own  work.  Had  he  lived  to  full  age,  his  guidance  of  the  emancipation, 
that  he  decreed  under  military  law,  would  have  saved  both  races  from  many  of 
the  rough  experiences  that  it  has  produced  and  will  yet  cause,  by  the  effort  to 
fuse  the  races  into  political  harmony,  against  the  mutual  instinct  that  will  keep 
them  forever  separated  by  race  and  social  antagonisms. 

The  character  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  clearly  displayed  in  his  conduct  of  the  war, 
but  he  was  deprived  of  the  opportunity  for  its  full  development  in  a  period  of 
peace  and  security.  His  most  conspicuous  virtue,  as  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  and  navy,  was  the  absence  of  a  spirit  of  resentment,  or  oppression,  toward 
the  enemy,  and  the  self-imposed  restraint  under  which  he  exercised  the  really 
absolute  powers  within  his  grasp.  For  this  all  his  countrymen  revere  his 
memory,  rejoice  in  the  excellence  of  his  fame,  and  those  who  failed  in  the  great 
struggle  hold  him  in  grateful  esteem. — Hon.  John  T.  Morgan,  Senator  from 
Alabama  and  Confederate  General. 


288  ANECDOTES. 

GARRISON  IN  BALTIMORE. 

An  account  given  in  the  Independent  of  a  visit  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison 
and  others  to  Baltimore,  to  find  the  jail  where  Garrison  was  imprisoned,  states 
that  when  Mr.  Garrison  subsequently  told  Mr.  Lincoln  of  it,  the  president  said: 

"  Well,  Mr.  Garrison,  when  you  first  went  to  Baltimore  you  could  not  get  out 
of  prison,  but  the  second  time  you- could  not  get  in." 


MR.   LINCOLN  ON  THE   "COMPROMISE." 

When  the  conversation  turned  upon  the  discussions  as  to  the  Missouri  Com 
promise,  it  elicited  the  following  quaint  remark  from  the  president: 

"  It  used  to  amuse  me  some  to  find  that  the  slaveholders  wanted  more  territory, 
because  they  had  not  room  enough  for  their  slaves,  and  yet  they  complained  of 
not  having  the  slave  trade,  because  they  wanted  more  slaves  for  their  room." 


STORY  OF  ANDY  JOHNSON  AND  HIS  DOUBTFUL  INTEREST  IN  PRAYERS, 

Colonel  Granville  Moody,  "the  fighting  Methodist  parson,"  as  he  was  called  in 
Tennessee,  while  attending  a  conference  in  Philadelphia,  met  the  president,  and 
related  to  him  the  following  story,  which  we  give  as  repeated  by  Mr.  Lincoln  to 
a  friend. 

"He  told  me,"  said  Lincoln,  "this  story  of  Andy  Johnson  and  General  Buel, 
which  interested  me  intensely: 

"The  colonel  happened  to  be  in  Nashville  the  day  it  was  reported  that  Buel 
had  decided  to  evacuate  the  city.  The  rebels,  strongly  reinforced,  were  said  to  be 
within  two  days1  march  of  the  capital.  Of  course,  the  city  was  greatly  excited. 
Moody  said  he  went  in  search  of  Johnson  at  the  edge  of  the  evening,  and  found 
him  at  his  office  closeted  with  two  gentlemen,  who  were  walking  the  floor  with 
him,  one  on  each  side.  As  he  entered  they  retired,  leaving  him  alone  with 
Johnson,  who  came  up  to  him,  manifesting  intense  feeling,  and  said: 

"'Moody,  we  are  sold  out.  Buel  is  a  traitor.  He  is  going  to  evacuate  the 
city,  and  in  forty-eight  hours  we  will  all  be  in  the  hands  of  the  rebels! ' 

"Then  he  commenced  pacing  the  floor  again,  twisting  his  hands  and  chafing 
like  a  caged  tiger,  utterly  insensible  to  his  friend's  entreaties  to  become  calm. 
Suddenly  he  turned  and  said: 

"'Moody,  can  you  pray?' 

"'  That  is  my  business,  sir,  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,1  returned  the  colonel. 

" '  Well,  Moody,  I  wish  you  would  pray,1  said  Johnson,  and  instantly  both  went 
down  upon  their  knees,  at  opposite  sides  of  the  room 

"As  the  prayer  waxed  fervent,  Johnson  began  to  respond  in  true  Methodist 
style.  Presently  he  crawled  over  on  his  hands  and  knees  to  Moody's  side  and  put. 


ANECDOTES.  289 

his  arms  over  him,  manifesting  the  deepest  emotion.  Closing  the  prayer  with  a 
hearty  '  amen  '  from  each,  they  aro^e. 

"Johnson  took  a  long  breath,  and  said,  with  emphasis: 

'"  Moody,  I  feel  better.' 

"Shortly  afterward  he  asked: 

'"Will  you  standby  me?' 

"'Certainly  I  will,'  was  the  answer. 

"'Well,  Moody,  I  can  depend  upon  you;  you  are  one  in  a  hundred  thousand.' 

"He  then  commenced  pacing  the  floor  again.  Suddenly  he  wheeled,  the 
current  of  his  thought  having  changed,  and  said: 

"'Oh,  Moody,  I  don't  want  you  to  think  I  have  become  a  religious  man  because 
I  asked  you  to  pray.  I  am  sorry  to  say  it,  I  am  not,  and  never  pretended  to  be 
religious.  No  one  knows  this  better  than  you,  but,  Moody,  there  is  one  thing 
about  it,  I  do  believe  in  Almighty  God!  and  I  believe  also  in  the  Bible,  and  I  say, 
d — n  me  if  Nashville  shall  be  surrendered!' 

"And  Nashville  was  not  surrendered." 


A  LITTLE  SOLDIER  BOY. 

"President  Lincoln,"  says  the  Hon.  W.  D.  Kelly,  "  was  a  large  and  many-sided 
man,  and  yet  so  simple  that  no  one,  not  even  a  child,  could  approach  him  without 
feeling  that  he  had  found  in  him  a  sympathizing  friend.  I  remember  that 
I  apprised  him  of  the  fact  that  a  lad,  the  son  of  one  of  my  townsmen,  had  served  a 
year  on  the  gunboat  Ottawa,  and  had  been  in  two  important  engagements;  in  the 
first  as  powder-monkey,  when  he  had  conducted  himself  with  such  coolness  that 
he  had  been  chosen  as  captain's  messenger  in  the  second;  and  I  suggested  to  the 
president  tint  it  was  within  his  power  to  send  to  the  naval  school  annually  three 
boys  who  had  served  at  least  one  year  in  the  navy. 

"  He  at  once  wrote  on  the  back  of  a  letter  from  the  commander  of  the  Ottawa, 
which  I  had  handed  him,  to  the  secretary  of  the  navy: 

"'If  the  appointments  for  this  year  have  not  been  made,  let  this  boy  be 
appointed.' 

"The  appointment  had  not  been  made,  and  I  brought  it  home  with  me.  It 
directed  the  lad  to  report  for  examination  at  the  school  in  July.  Just  as  he  was 
ready  to  start,  his  father,  looking  over  the  law,  discovered  that  he  could  not  report 
until  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  which  he  would  not  be  until  September 
following. 

"The  poor  child  sat  down  and  wept.  He  feared  that  he  was  not  to  go  to  the 
naval  school.  He  was,  however,  soon  consoled  by  being  told  that  the  'president 
could  make  it  right.' 

"  It  was  my  fortune  to  meet  him  the  next  morning  at  the  door  of  the  executive 

chamber  with  his  father." 

10 


290  ANECDOTES. 

LINCOLN    AND  JOHN   HANKS. 

"It  was  during  the  dark  days  of  1863,"  says  Schuyler  Colfax, "  on  the  evening 
of  a  public  reception  given  at  the  White  House.  The  foreign  legations  were 
gathered  about  the  president. 

UA  young  English  nobleman  was  just  being  presented  to  the  president. 
Inside  the  door,  evidently  overawed  by  the  splendid  assemblage,  wras  an  honest- 
faced  old  farmer,  who  shrank  from  the  passing  crowd  until  he  and  the  plain- 
faced  old  lady  clinging  to  his  arm  were  pressed  back  to  the  wall. 

"The  president,  tall,  and,  in  a  measure,  stately  in  his  personal  presence, 
looking  over  the  heads  of  the  assembly,  said  to  the  English  nobleman,  'Excuse 
me,  my  Lord,  there's  an  old  friend  of  mine.' 

"Passing  backward  to  the  door,  Mr.  Lincoln  said,  as  he  grasped  the  old 
farmer's  hand: 

"'  Why,  John,  I'm  glad  to  see  you.  I  haven't  seen  you  since  you  and  I  made 
rails  for  old  Mrs.  -  -  in  Sangamon  county,  in  1837.  How  are  you?  ' 

"The  old  man  turned  to  his  wife  with  quivering  lip,  and  without  replying  to 
the  president's  salutation,  said. 

"'Mother,  he's  just  the  same  old  Abe!' 

"'Mr.  Lincoln, 'he  said,  finally,  'you  know  we  had  three  boys;  they  all  enlisted 
in  the  same  company;  John  was  killed  in  the  "  seven  days'  fight;"  Sam  was  taken 
prisoner  and  starved  to  death,  and  Henry  is  in  the  hospital.  We  had  a  little 
money,  an1  I  said,  "Mother,  we'll  go  to  Washington  an'  see  him."  An'  while  we 
were  here,  I  said  we'll  go  up  and  see  the  president.' 

"Mr.  Lincoln's  eyes  grew  dim,  and  across  his  rugged,  homely,  tender  face 
swept  the  wave  of  sadness  his  friends  had  learned  to  know,  and  he  said:  'John, 
we  all  hope  this  miserable  war  will  soon  be  over.  I  must  see  all  these  folks 
here  for  an  hour  or  so,  and  I  want  to  talk  with  you.'  The  old  lady  and  her  hus 
band  were  hustled  into  a  private  room  in  spite  of  their  protests." 


AN   OFFICER'S  SON  SENT  HOME. 

In  speaking  of  certain  odd  doings  in  the  army,  Old  Abe  said  that  reminded 
him  of  another  story,  as  follows: 

On  one  occasion  when  a  certain  general's  purse  was  getting  low,  he  remarked 
that  he  would  be  obliged  to  draw  on  his  banker  for  some  money. 

"How  much  do  you  want,  father?  "  said  the  boy. 

"  I  think  I  shall  send  for  a  couple  of  hundred,"  replied  the  general. 

"Why,  father,"  said  his  son,  very  quietly,  "I  can  let  you  have  that  amount." 

"You  can  let  me  have  it!"  exclaimed  the  general,  in  surprise;  "where  did 
you  get  so  much  money?" 

"  I  won  it  at  playing  draw-poker  with  your  staff,  sir!"  replied  the  youth. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  earliest  morning  train  bore  the  "  gay  young 
gambolier"  toward  his  home. 


ANECDOTES.  291 

A    "TIGHT   SQUEEZE." 

President  Lincoln  was  very  doubtful  about  his  second  election.  He  said  that 
his  poor  prospect  reminded  him  of  old  Jake  Tullwater,  who  lived  in  Illinois.  Old 
Jake  got  a  fever  once,  and  he  became  delirious,  and  while  in  this  state  he  fancied 
that  the  last  day  had  come,  and  he  was  called  to  judge  the  world.  With  all  the 
vagaries  of  insanity  he  gave  both  questions  and  answers  himself,  and  only  called 
up  his  acquaintances,  the  millers,  when  something  like  this  followed: 

u  Shon  Schmidt,  come  up  here!     Vat  bees  you  in  dis  lower  worlds?" 

"  Well,  Lort,  I  bees  a  miller.1' 

"  Well,  Shon,  did  you  ever  take  too  much  toll?  " 

"Oh,  yes,  Lort,  when  the  water  was  low,  and  the  stones  were  dull,  I  did  take 
too  much  toll." 

"  Well,  Shon,"  Old  Jake  would  say,  "  you  must  go  to  the  left  among  the 
goats.11 

So  he  called  up  all  he  knew,  and  put  them  through  the  same  course,  till 
finally  he  came  to  himself: 

"  Shake  Tullwater,  cjni3  up  here  !  Well,  Shake,  what  bees  you  in  dis  lower 
world?11 

"  Well,  Lort,  I  bees  a  miller." 

"And,  Shake,  didn't  you  ever  take  too  much  toll?" 

"Ah,  yes,  Lort,  when  the  water  was  low,  and  the  stones  were  dull,  I  did  take 
too  much  toll." 

"  Well,  Shake — well,  Shake  (scratching  his  head) — well,  Shake,  what  did 
you  do  mit  dattoll?" 

"  Well,  Lort,  I  gives  him  to  de  poor.11 

"Ah!  Shake,  give  it  to  the  poor,  did  you?  Well,  Shake,  you  can  go  to  the 
right  among  the  sheep,  but  it's  a  tam'd  tight  squeeze!  " 


SEWARD   AND   CHASE. 

The  antagonism  between  the  conservatives  in  the  Cabinet,  represented  by 
Seward,  and  the  radicals,  represented  by  Chase,  was  a  source  of  much  embarrass 
ment  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  Finally,  the  radicals  appointed  a  committee  to  demand 
the  dismissal  of  Seward.  Before  the  committee  arrived,  Mr.  Seward,  in  order 
to  relieve  the  president  of  embarrassment,  tendered  his  resignation.  In  the 
course  of  the  discussion  with  the  committee,  Mr.  Chase  found  his  position  so 
embarrassing  and  equivocal  that  he  thought  it  wise  to  tender  his  resignation  the 
next  day.  Mr.  Lincoln  refused  to  accept  either,  stating  that  "the  public  interest 
does  not  admit  of  it."  When  it  was  all  over,  he  said:  "Now  I  can  ride;  I 
have  got  a  pumpkin  in  each  end  of  my  bag."  Later  on  he  said:  "I  do  not  sec 
how  it  could  have  been  done  better.  I  am  sure  it  was  right.  If  I  had  yielded 
to  that  storm,  and  dismissed  Seward,  the  thing  would  have  slumped  over  one 
way,  and  we  should  have  been  left  with  a  scanty  handful  of  supporters." 


292  ANECDOTES. 

TRIBUTE  TO   MR.    LINCOLN'S  CLEMENCY,    BY  SENATOR  DANIEL  W. 
VOORHEES,   A  DISTINGUISHED  DEMOCRAT. 

Henry  M.  Luckett  had  been  sentenced  to  be  shot  for  disloyal  conduct. 
Colonel  Lane,  Colonel  William  R.  Morrison,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bullitt  and  Senator 
Hendricks  had  interceded  in  his  behalf.  Senator  Voorhees  says: 

"  We  ascended  the  stairs  and  filed  into  the  president's  room.  As  we  entered, 
I  saw  at  a  glance  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  that  sad,  preoccupied,  far-away  look  I  had 
so  often  seen  him  wear,  and  during  which  it  was  difficult  to  engage  his  attention 
to  passing  events.  As  we  approached,  he  slowly  turned  to  us,  inclined  his  head, 
and  spoke.  Senator  Lane  at  once,  in  his  rapid,  nervous  style,  explained  the  occa 
sion  of  our  call,  and  made  known  our  reasons  for  asking  executive  clemency. 
While  he  was  talking,  Mr.  Lincoln  looked  at  him  in  a  patient,  tired  sort  of  way, 
but  not  as  if  lie  was  struck  with  the  sensibilities  of  the  subject  as  we  were. 
When  the  senator  ceased  speaking  there  was  no  immediate  response;  on  the  con 
trary,  rather  an  awkward  pause.  My  heart  beat  fa^t.  for  in  that  pause  was  now 
my  great  hope,  and  I  was  not  disappointed.  Mrs.  Bullitt  had  taken  a  seat,  on 
coming  in,  not  far  from  the  president,  and  now,  in  quivering  but  distinct  tones, 
she  spoke,  addressing  him  as  '  Mr.  Lincoln.1  He  turned  to  her  with  a  grave, 
benignant  expression,  and  as  he  listened  his  eyes  lost  that  distant  look,  and  his 
face  grew  animated  with  a  keen  and  vivid  interest.  The  little  pale-faced  woman 
at  his  side  talked  wonderfully  well  for  her  father's  life,  and  her  eyes  pleaded  even 
more  eloquently  than  her  tongue.  Suddenly,  and  while  she  was  talking,  Mr. 
Lincoln,  turning  to  Senator  Lane,  exclaimed: 

u'Lane,  what  did  you  say  this  man's  name  was?1 

ut  Luckett,'  answered  the  senator. 

"'Not  Henry  M.  Luckett?'  quickly  queried  the  president. 

ut  Yes,1  interposed  Mrs.  Bullitt;  k  my  father's  name  is  Henry  M.  Luckett.1 

ut  WThy,  he  preached  in  Springfield  years  ago,  didn't  he?'  said  Mr.  Lincoln, 
now  all  animation  and  interest. 

"•  Yes,  my  father  used  to  preach  in  Springfield,1  replied  the  daughter. 

Ui  Well,  this  is  wonderful!'  Mr.  Lincoln  remarked;  and  turning  to  the  party 
in  front  of  him  he  continued:  'I  knew  this  man  well;  I  have  heard  him 
preach;  he  was  a  tall,  angular  man  like  I  am,  and  I  have  been  mistaken  for  him 
on  the  streets.  Did  you  say  he  was  to  be  shot  day  after  to-morrow?  No,  no! 
There  will  be  no  shooting  or  hanging  in  this  case.  Henry  M.  Luckett!  There 
must  be  something  wrong  with  him,  or  he  wouldn't  be  in  such  a  scrape  as  this. 
I  don't  know  what  more  I  can  do  for  him,  but  you  can  rest  assured,  my  child,1 
turning  to  Mrs.  Bullitt,  l  that  your  father's  life  is  safe.1 

"He  touched  a  bell  on  his  table,  and  the  telegraph  operator  appeared  from  an 
adjoining  room.  To  him  Mr.  Lincoln  dictated  a  dispatch  to  General  Hurlbut, 
directing  him  to  suspend  the  execution  of  Henry  M.  Luckett  and  await  further 
orders  in  the  case. 

"As  we  thanked  him  and  took  our  leave,  he  repeated,  as  if  to  himself: 

"'  Henry  M.  Luckett !     No,  no!     There  is  no  shooting  or  hanging  in  this  case.1 


ANECDOTES.  293 

';  With  what  feelings  we  all  left  his  presence;  how  the  woman's  heart  bore  its 
great  flood  of  joy  and  its  sudden  revulsion  from  the  depths  of  fear  and  despair; 
how  she  sobbed  and  laughed,  and  how  tears  and  smiles  were  in  her  bright  face 
together;  how  in  broken  words  and  choking  voice  she  tried  to  pour  out  her 
unutterable  gratitude  to  Abraham  Lincoln;  how  some  of  the  party  returning  in 
the  same  carriage  with  her  and  her  husband  were  almost  as  deeply  moved  as  she 
was;  how  all  these  things  and  others  occurred  in  the  swift  transition  from  deep 
distress  and  overwhelming  dread  to  happiness  and  security,  cannot  now  be  told. 
Perhaps  they  were  recorded  at  the  time  somewhere  else." 

Mr.  Voorhees  gives  this  interesting  sequel  to  his  story: 

"Two  or  three  months  later  the  object  of  all  our  solicitude  and  labors  was 
released  and  sent  North  to  his  friends.  I  saw  him  hut  once.  The  first  use  he 
made  of  his  liberty  was  to  travel,  poor  as  he  was,  to  Washington  to  express  his 
gratitude  for  his  preservation  from  a  violent  and  ignominious  death.  He  called 
me  from  my  seat  in  the  House,  and  I  met  him  exactly  where  I  had  met  those  who 
came  to  intercede  for  his  life  a  little  while  before.  He  was  a  tall,  spare  old  man, 
with  an  excited,  startled,  haunted  expression  of  face.  He  wanted  to  call  and 
thank  the  president  in  person  for  his  great  kindness,  but  the  circumstances  at 
the  time  were  not  favorable  to  such  a  call,  and  it  was  not  made.  He  remained 
with  me  not  more  than  fifteen  minutes,  and  then  in  the  hurried  manner  of  one 
who  has  much  to  do  and  whose  time  is  short,  he  moved  away,  and  I  saw  him  no 
more." — North  American  Review. 


SPEAKING  OF  THE  TIME. 

Wrhen  Mrs.  Vallandigham  left  Dayton  to  join  her  husband,  just  before  the 
election,  she  told  her  friends  that  she  never  expected  to  return  until  she  did  so  as 
the  wife  of  the  governor  of  Ohio. 

Mr.  Lincoln  is  said  to  have  got  off  the  following: 

"That  reminds  me  of  a  pleasant  little  affair  that  occurred  out  in  Illinois. 
A  gentleman  was  nominated  for  supervisor.  On  leaving  home  on  the  morning 
of  the  election,  he  said: 

;;  'Wife,  to-night  you  shall  sleep  with  the  supervisor  of  this  town.' 

"The  election  passed,  and  the  confident  gentleman  was  defeated.  The  wife 
heard  the  news  before  her  defeated  spouse  returned  home.  She  immediately 
dressed  for  going  out,  and  waited  her  husband's  return,  when  she  met  him  at 
the  door. 

"'Wife,  where  are  you  going  at  this  time  of  night?'  he  exclaimed. 

"'Going?"she  replied,. l  why,  you  told  me  this  morning  that  I  should  to-night 
sleep  with  the  supervisor  of  this  town,  and  as  Mr.  L.  is  elected  instead  of  your 
self,  I  was  going  to  his  house.' 

"She  didn't  go  out,  and  he  acknowledged  that  he  was  sold,  but  ^pleasantly 
redeemed  himself  with  a  new  Brussels  carpet." 


294  ANECDOTES. 

CONSCRIPTING  DEAD  MEN. 

Mr.  Lincoln  being  found  fault  with  for  making  another  u  call,"  said  that  if  the 
country  required  it,  he  would  continue  to  do  so  until  the  matter  stood  as  described 
by  a  western  provost  marshal,  who  says: 

"  I  listened  a  short  time  since  to  a  butternut-clad  individual,  who  succeeded 
in  making  good  his  escape,  expatiate  most  eloquently  on  the  rigidness  with  which 
the  conscription  was  enforced  south  of  the  Tennessee  river.  His  response  to  a 
question  propounded  by  a  citizen  ran  somewhat  in  this  wise: 

"'Do  they  conscript  close  over  the  river?' 

" l  Stranger,  I  should  think  they  did!  They  take  every  man  who  hasn't  been  dead 
more  than  two  days ! ' 

"If  this  is  correct,  the  Confederacy  has  at  least  a  ghost  of  a  chance  left." 

And  of  another,  a  Methodist  minister  in  Kansas,  living  on  a  small  salary, 
who  was  greatly  troubled  to  get  his  quarterly  instalment.  He  at  last  told 
the  non-paying  trustees  that  he  must  have  his  money,  as  he  was  suffering  for  the 
necessaries  of  life. 

"Money!"  replied  the  trustees,  "you  preach  for  money?  We  thought  you 
preached  for  the  good  of  souls! " 

"Souls!"  responded  the  reverend,  "I  can't  eat  souls;  and  if  I  could,  it  would 
take  a  thousand  such  as  yours  to  make  a  meal!" 

"  That  soul  is  the  point,  sir,"  said  the  president. 


KNOWING  TOO  MUCH. 

President  Lincoln,  while  entertaining  a  few  select  friends,  is  said  to  have 
related  the  following  anecdote  of  a  man  who  knew  too  much: 

During  the  administration  of  President  Jackson,  there  was  a  singular  young 
gentleman  employed  in  the  public  post-office  in  Washington.  His  name  was  G.; 
he  was  from  Tennessee,  the  son  of  a  widow,  a  neighbor  of  the  president,  on 
which  account  the  old  hero  had  a  kind  feeling  for  him,  and  always  got  him  out  of 
his  difficulties  with  some  of  the  higher  officials,  to  whom  his  singular  interference 
was  distasteful. 

Among  other  things,  it  is  said  of  him  that  while  he  was  employed  in  the 
general  post-office,  on  one  occasion  he  had  to  copy  a  letter  to  Major  H.,  a  high 
official,  in  answer  to  an  application  made  by  an  old  gentleman  in  Virginia  or 
Pennsylvania,  for  the  establishment  of  a  new  post-office.  The  writer  of  the 
letter  said  the  application  could  not  be  granted,  in  consequence  of  the  applicant's 
"proximity"  to  another  office.  When  the  letter  came  into  G.'s  hands  to  copy, 
being  a  great  stickler  for  plainness,  he  altered  "proximity11  to  "nearness  to.'T 
Major  H.  observed  it,  and  asked  G.  why  he  altered  his  letter. 

"Why,"  replied  G.,  "because  I  don't  think  the  man  would  understand  what 
you  meant  by  proximity." 

"Well,"  said  Major  H.,  "try  him;  put  in  the  '  proximity'  again." 


ANECDOTES.  295 

In  a  few  clays  a  letter  was  received  from  the  applicant,  in  which  he  very 
indignantly  said  that  "his  father  had  fought  for  liberty  ir^  the  second  war  for 
independence,  and  he  should  like  to  have  the  name  of  the  scoundrel  who  brought 
the  charge  of  proximity  or  anything  else  wrong  against  him. 

'"There,1'  said  G.,  "did  I  not  say  so?" 

G.  carried  his  improvements  so  far  that  Mr.  Berry,  the  postmaster-general, 
said  to  him,  "  I  don't  want  you  any  longer;  you  know  too  much." 

Poor  G.  went  out,  but  his  old  friend  the  general  got  him  another  place. 
This  time  G.'s  ideas  underwent  a  change.  He  was  one  day  very  busy  writing, 
when  a  stranger  called  in,  and  asked  him  where  the  Patent  Office  was. 

"I  don't  know,"  said  G. 

"Can  you  tell  me  where  the  Treasury  Department  is?  "  said  the  stranger. 

"No,"  saidG. 

"Nor  the  president's  house?" 

"No." 

The  stranger  finally  asked  him  if  he  knew  where  the  Capitol  was. 

"No,"  replied  G. 

"Do  you  live  in  Washington,  sir?"  said  the  stranger. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  G. 

"Good  Lord!  and  don't  you  know  where  the  Patent  Office,  Treasury,  pres 
ident's  house  and  Capitol  are?" 

"Stranger,"  said  G.,  "I  was  turned  out  of  the  post-office  for  knowing  too 
much.  I  don't  mean  to  offend  in  that  way  again.  I  am  paid  for  keeping  this 
book.  I  believe  I  know  that  much;  but  if  you  find  me  knowing  anything  more, 
_you  may  take  my  head." 

"Good-morning,"  said  the  stranger. 


LINCOLN  AND  THE  CURIOSITY-SEEKER, 

In  answer  to  a  curiosity-seeker  who  desired  a  permit  to  pass  the  lines  to  visit 
the  field  of  Bull  Run,  after  the  first  battle,  Mr.  Lincoln  made  the  following 
reply  as  his  answer: 

"A  man  in  Cortlandt  county  raised  a  porker  of  such  unusual  size  that  strangers 
went  out  of  their  way  to  see  it.  One  of  them  the  other  day  met  the  old  gen 
tleman,  and  inquired  about  the  animal. 

"'Wall,  yes,'  the  old  fellow  said;  'Iv'e  got  such  a  critter,  mi'ty  big  un;  but 
I  guess  I'll  have  to  charge  you  about  a  shillin'  for  lookin'  at  him.' 

"The  stranger  looked  at  the  old  man  for  a  minute  or  so,  pulled  out  the  desired 
coin,  handed  it  to  him,  and  started  to  go  off. 

"'Hold  on,'  said  the  other,  'don't  you  want  to  see  the  hog?' 

"  'No.'  said  the  stranger;  'I  have  seen  as  big  a  hog  as  I  want  to  see!' 

"And  you  will  find  that  fact  the  case  with  yourself,  if  you  should  happen  to 
see  a  few  live  rebels  there  as  well  as  dead  ones." 


296  ANECDOTES. 

LINCOLN'S  IDEAS  ABOUT  SLAVERY. 

The  story  will  be  remembered,  perhaps,  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  reply  to  a  Spring 
field  (Illinois)  clergyman,  who  asked  him  what  was  to  be  his  policy  on  trie- 
slavery  question. 

"  Well,  ypur  question  is  rather  a  cool  one,  but  I  will  answer  it  by  telling  you 
a  story.  You  know  Father  B.,  the  old  Methodist  preacher?  and  you  know  Fox 
river  and  its  freshets?  Well,  once  in  the  presence  of  Father  B.,  a  young  Meth 
odist  was  worrying  about  Fox  river,  and  expressing  fears  that  he  should  be  pre 
vented  from  fulfilling  some  of  his  appointments  by  a  freshet  in  the  river. 
Father  B.  checked  him  in  his  gravest  manner.  Said  he: 

" l  Young  man,  I  have  always  made  it  a  rule  in  my  life  not  to  cross  Fox  river 
till  I  get  to  it.' 

"  And,"  said  the  president,  "  I  am  not  going  to  worry  myself  over  the  slavery 
question  till  I  get  to  it." 

A  few  days  afterward  a  Methodist  minister  called  on  the  president,  and  on 
being  presented  to  him,  said,  simply: 

"  Mr.  President,  I  have  come  to  tell  you  that  I  think  we  have  got  to  Fox  river! '*' 

Mr.  Lincoln  thanked  the  clergyman,  and  laughed  heartily. 


REV.    DR.    WAYLAND  HOYT   ON   THE    "SYMPATHY"    OF    LINCOLN. 

Consider  the  sympathy  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Do  you  know  the  story  of 
William  Scott,  private?  Mr.  Chittenden  gives  the  true  version  of  it.  He  was  a 
boy  from  a  Vermont  farm.  There  had  been  a  long  march,  and  the  night  suc 
ceeding  it  he  had  stood  on  picket.  The  next  day  there  had  been  another  long 
march,  and  that  night  William  Scott  had  volunteered  to  stand  guard  in  the  place- 
of  a  sick  comrade  who  had  been  drawn  for  the  duty.  It  was  too  much  for 
William  Scott.  He  was  too  tired.  He  had  been  found  sleeping  on  his  beat. 
The  army  was  at  Chain  Bridge.  It  was  in  a  dangerous  neighborhood.  Discipline- 
must  be  kept-  William  Scott  is  apprehended,  tried  by  court-martial,  sentenced 
to  be  shot.  News  of  the  case  is  carried  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  William  Scott  i& 
prisoner  in  his  tent,  expecting  to  be  shot  next  day.  But  the  flaps  of  his  tent  are- 
parted,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  stands  before  him.  Scott  said: 

"The  president  was  the  kindest  man  I  had  ever  seen;  I  knew  him  at  once  by 
a  Lincoln  medal  I  had  long  worn.  I  was  scared  at  first,  for  I  had  never  before 
talked  with  a  great  man;  but  Mr.  Lincoln  was  so  easy  with  me,  so  gentle,  that  I 
soon  forgot  my  fright.  He  asked  me  all  about  the  people  at  home,  the  neigh 
bors,  the  farm,  and  where  I  went  to  school,  and  who  my  schoolmates  were. 
Then  he  asked  me  about  mother  and  how  she  looked;  and  I  was  glad  I  could  take 
her  photograph  from  my  bosom  and  show  it  to  him.  He  said  how  thankful  I 
ought  to  be  that  my  mother  still  lived,  and  how,  if  he  were  in  my  place,  he  would 
try  to  make  her  a  proud  mother,  and  never  cause  her  a  sorrow  or  a  tear.  I 
cannot  remember  it  all,  but  every  word  was  so  kind. 


ANECDOTES.  297 

"He  had  said  nothing  yet  about  that  dreadful  next  morning;  I  thought  it 
must  be  that  he  was  so  kind-hearted  that  he  didn't  like  to  speak  of  it.  But  why 
did  he  say  so  much  about  my  mother,  and  my  not  causing  her  a  sorrow  or  a  tear, 
when  I  knew  that  I  must  die  the  next  morning?  But  I  supposed  that  was  some 
thing  that  would  have  to  go  unexplained;  and  so  I  determined  to  brace  up  and 
tell  him  that  I  did  not  feel  a  bit  guilty,  and  ask  him  wouldn't  he  fix  it  so  that 
the  firing  party  would  not  be  from  our  regiment.  That  was  going  to  be  the 
hardest  of  all — to  die  by  the  hands  of  my  comrades.  Just  as  I  was  going  to  ask 
him  this  favor,  he  stood  up,  and  he  says  to  me: 

" '  My  boy,  stand  up  here  and  look  me  in  the  face.' 

UI  did  as  he  bade  me. 

"'My  boy,'  he  said,  ;you  are  not  going  to  be  shot  to-morrow.  I  believe  you 
when  you  tell  me  that  you  could  not  keep  awake.  I  am  going  to  trust  you, 
and  send  you  back  to  your  regiment.  But  I  have  been  put  to  a  good  deal  of 
trouble  on  your  account.  I  have  had  to  come  up  here  from  Washington  when  I 
have  got  a  great  deal  to  do;  and  what  I  want  to  know  is,  how  are  you  going 
to  pay  my  bill? ' 

"There  was  a  big  lamp  in  my  throat;  I  could  scarcely  speak.  I  had  expected 
to  die,  you  see,  and  had  kind  of  got  used  to  thinking  that  way.  To  have  it  all 
changed  in  a  minute!  *  But  I  got  it  crowde'd  down,  and  managed  to  say: 

"kl  am  grateful,  Mr.  Lincoln!  I  hope  I  am  as  grateful  as  ever  a  man  can 
be  to  you  for  saving  my  life.  But  it  comes  upon  me  sudden  and  unexpected 
like.  I  didn't  lay  out  for  it  at  all;  but  there  is  some  way  to  pay  you,  and  I  will 
find  it  after  a  little.  There  is  the  bounty  in  the  savings  bank;  I  guess  we  could 
borrow  some  money  on  the  mortgage  of  the  farm.'  There  was  my  pay  was  some 
thing,  and  if  he  would  wait  until  pay-day  I  was  sure  the  boys  would  help;  so  I 
thought  we  could  make  it  up  if  it  wasn't  more  than  five  or  six  hundred  dollars. 

" '  But  it  is  a  great  deal  more  than  that,'  he  said. 

"Then  I  said  I  didn't  just  see  how,  but  I  was  sure  I  would  find  some  way 
—if  I  lived.  Then  Mr.  Lincoln  put  his  hands  on  my  shoulders,  and  looked  into 
my  face  as  if  he  was  sorry,  and  said: 

UiMy  boy,  my  bill  is  a  very  large  one.  Your  friends  cannot  pay  it,  nor  your 
bounty,  nor  the  farm,  nor  all  your  comrades!  There  is  only  one  man  in  all  the 
world  who  can  pay  it,  and  his  name  is  William  Scott!  If  from  this  day 
William  Scott  does  his  duty,  so  that,  if  I  was  there  when  he  comes  to  die,  he 
can  look  me  in  the  face  as  he  does  now,  and  say,  I  have  kept  my  promise,  and  I 
have  done  my  duty  as  a  soldier,  then  my  debt  will  be  paid.  Will  you  make  that 
promise  and  try  to  keep  it?'" 

The  promise  was  given.  It  is  too  long  a  story  to  tell  of  the  effect  of  this  sym 
pathizing  kindness  on  private  William  Scott.  Thenceforward  there  never  was 
such  a  soldier  as  William  Scott.  This  is  the  record  of  the  end.  It  was  after  one 
of  the  awful  battles  of  the  Peninsula.  He  was  shot  all  to  pieces.  He  said: 

"  Boys,  I  shall  never  see  another  battle.  I  supposed  this  would  be  my  last.  I 
haven't  mudi  to  say.  You  all  know  what  you  can  tell  them  at  home  about  me. 


298         . .  ANECDOTES. 

I  have  tried  to  do  the  right  thing!  If  any  of  you  ever  have  the  chance.  I  wish 
you  would  tell  President  Lincoln  that  I  have  never  forgotten  the  kind  words  he 
said  to  me  at  the  Chain  Bridge;  that  I  have  tried  to  be  a  good  soldier  and  true 
to  the  flag;  that  I  should  have  paid  my  whole  debt  to  him  if  I  had  lived;  and 
that  now,  when  I  know  that  I  am  dying,  I  think  of  his  kind  face,  and  thank 
him  again,  because  he  gave  me  the  chance  to  fall  like  a  soldier  in  battle,  and  not 
like  a  coward,  by  the  hands  of  my  comrades." 

Was  there  ever  a  more  exquisite  story?  Space  forbids  the  half  telling  it. 
But  the  heart  of  Abraham  Lincoln— 'how  wide  it  was,  how  beautiful  and  par 
ticular  in  its  sympathies!  Who  can  doubt  a  gracious  Providence,  when  at  such 
a  crisis  such  a  wise,  strong,  tender  hand  was  set  to  grasp  the  helm  of  things? 
What  wonder  that  Secretary  Stanton  said  of  him,  as  he  gazed  upon  the  tall  form 
and  kindly  face  as  he  lay  there,  smitten  down  by  the  assassin's  bullet,  "There 
lies  the  most  perfect  ruler  of  men  who  ever  lived," 


THE   QUAKER  AND   THE    "COPPERHEAD." 

Mr.  Lincoln  especially  enjoyed  this  incident,  occurring  at  Salem,  Indiana,  during 
John  Morgan's  raid:  Some  of  his  m*en  proceeded  out  west  of  the  town  to  burn 
the  bridges  and  water-tanks  on  the  railroad.  On  the  way  out  they  captured  a 
couple  of  persons  living  in  the  country,  one  of  whom  was  a  Quaker.  The 
Quaker  strongly  objected  to  being  made  a  prisoner.  Secesh  wanted  to  know  if 
he  was  not  strongly  opposed  to  the  South. 

u  Thee  is  right,"  said  the  Quaker,  "  I  am." 

"Well,  did  you  vote  for  Lincoln?  " 

"  Thee  is  right;  I  did  vote  for  Abraham." 

"Well,  what  are  you?" 

"  Thee  may  naturally  suppose  that  I  am  a  Union  man.  Cannot  thee  let  me 
go  to  my  home?  " 

"Yes,  yes;  go  and  take  care  of  the  old  woman,"  said  Secesh. 

The  other  prisoner  was  taken  along  with  them,  but  not  relishing  the  summary 
manner  in  which  the  Quaker  was  disposed  of,  said: 

"  What  did  you  let  him  go  for?  He  is  a  black  abolitionist.  Now,  look  here, 
I  voted  for  Breckinridge,  and  have  always  been  opposed  to  this  war.  I  am 
opposed  to  fighting  the  South,  decidedly."  ^ 

"You  are,"  said  Secesh;  "you  are  what  they  call  around  here  a  copperhead, 
ain't  you." 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  the  butternut,  insinuatingly;  "  that's  what  all  my  neighbors 
call  me,  and  they  know  I  ain't  with  them." 

"Come  here,  Dave!"  halloed  Secesh.  "There's  a  butternut.  Just  come  and 
look  at  him.  Look  here,  old  man,  where  do  you  live?  We  want  that  horse  you 
have  got  to  spare,  and  if  you  have  got  any  greenbacks,  you  shell  'em  out."  And 
they  took  all  he  had. 


ANECDOTES.  299 

4 

PASSES  TO  RICHMOND. 

A  gentleman  called  upon  the  president  and  solicited  a  pass  for  Richmond. 

"  Well,"  said  the  president,  u  I  would  be  very  happy  to  oblige,  if  my  passes 
"were  respected;  but  the  fact  is,  sir,  I  have,  within  the  past  two  years,  given  passes 
to  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  to  go  to  Richmond,  and  not  one  has  got 
there  yet." 

The  applicant  quietly  and  respectfully  withdrew  on  his  tiptoes. 


CHARLES   A.  DANA'S  NIGHT   RIDE. 

In  the  beginning  of  May,  Grant  moved  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  across  the 
Rappuhannock  and  fought  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness.  For  two  days  we  had 
no  authentic  news  in  Washington,  and  both  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  secretary  of 
war  were  very  much  troubled  about  it.  One  night  at  about  ten  o'clock  I  was 
sent  for  to  the  War  Department,  and  on  reaching  the  office  I  found  the  president 
and  the  secretary  together. 

"We  are  greatly  disturbed  in  mind,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "because  Grant  has 
been  fighting  two  days  and  we  are  not  getting  any  authentic  account  of  what 
has  happened  since  he  moved.  We  have  concluded  to  send  you  down  there. 
How  soon  will  you  be  ready  to  start?" 

"I  will  be  ready,"  I  said,  uin  half  an  hour,  and  will  get  off  just  as  soon  as  a 
train  and  an  escort  can  be  got  ready  at  Alexandria." 

"Very  good,"  said  the  president;  ugo,  then,  and  God  bless  you." 

I  at  once  made  the  necessary  preparations,  and  gave  orders  for  a  train  from 
Alexandria  to  the  Rappahannock.  At  the  appoimted  time,  just  before  midnight, 
I  was  on  board  the  cars  in  Maryland  avenue,  which  were  to  take  me  and  my 
horse  to  Alexandria,  when  an  orderly  rode  up  in  haste  to  say  that  the  president 
wanted  to  see  me  at  the  War  Department.  Riding  there  as  fast  as  I  could,  I  found 
the  president  still  there. 

"Since  you  went  away,"  said  he,  "  I  have  been  feeling  very  unhappy  about  it. 
I  don't  like  to  send  you  down  there.  We  hear  that  Jeb  Stewart's  cavalry  is 
riding  all  over  the  region  between  the  Rappahannock  and  the  Rapidan,  and  I 
don't  want  to  expose  you  to  the  danger  you  will  have  to  meet  before  you  can 
reach  Grant." 

"Mr.  Lincoln,"  I  said,  "I  have  got  a  first-rate  horse,  and  twenty  cavalrymen 
are  in  readiness  at  Alexandria.  If:  we  meet  a  small  force  of  Stewart's  people,  we 
<jan  fight,  and  if  they  are  too  many,  they  will  have  to  have  mighty  good  horses 
to  catch  us." 

"  But  are  you  not  concerned  about  it  at  all?  "  said  he. 

"No,  sir,"  said  I,  "I  don't  feel  any  hesitation  on  my  account.  Besides,  it  is 
getting  late,  and  I  want  to  get  down  to  the  Rappahannock  by  daylight." 

"All  right,"  said  he;  "  if  you  feel  that  way,  I  won't  keep  you  any  longer, 
^rood-night,  and  good-by." — Charles  A.  Dana,  in  North  American  Eeview. 


300  ANECDOTES. 

-  UNCLE  ABE   AND  THE  JUDGE. 

Where  men  bred  in  courts,  accustomed  to  the  world,  or  versed  in  diplomacy 
would  use  some  subterfuge,  or  would  make  a  polite  speech,  or  give  a  shrug  of  the- 
shoulders,  as  the  means  of  getting  out  of  an  embarrassing  position,  Mr.  Lincoln 
raises  a  laugh  by  some  bold  west-country  anecdote,  and  moves  off  in  the  cloud  of 
merriment  produced  by  the  joke.  Thus,  when  Mr.  Bates  was  remonstrating 
apparently  against  the  appointment  of  some  indifferent  lawyer  to  a  place  of 
judicial  importance,  the  president  interposed  with: 

44  Come  now,  Bates,  he's  not  half  as  bad  as  you  think.  Besides  that,  I  must 
tell  you,  he  did  me  a  good  turn  long  ago.  When  I  took  to  the  law,  I  was  going^ 
to  court  one  morning,  with  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  of  bad  road  before  me,  and 
I  had  no  horse.  The  judge  overtook  me  in  his  wagon: 

" 'Hallo,  Lincoln!  are  you  not  going  to  the  court-house?  Come  in  and  I  will 
give  you  a  seat.' 

"  Well,  I  got  in,  and  the  judge  went  on  reading  his  papers.  Presently  the- 
wagon  struck  a  stump  on  one  side  of  the  road,  then  it  hopped  off  to  the  other. 
I  looked  out,  and  I  saw  the  driver  was  jerking  from  side  to  side  in  his  seat,  so- 
I  says:  * 

"'  Judge,  I  think  your  coachman  has  been  taking  a  little  too  much  this: 
morning.' 

"  '  Well,  I  declare,  Lincoln,'  said  he,  1 1  should  not  much  wonder  if  you  are- 
right,  for  he  has  nearly  upset  me  half  a  dozen  times  since  starting.'  So,  putting 
his  head  out  of  the  window  he  shouted,  'Why,  you  infernal  scoundrel,  you  are- 
drunk.'  Upon  which,  pulling  up  his  horses,  and  turing  round  with  great  gravity,, 
the  coachman  said: 

44  k  By  gorra!  that's  the  first  rightful  decision  that  you  have  given  for  the  last 
twelve  month.' " 

While  the  company  were  laughing,  the  president  beat  a  quiet  retreat  from 
the  neighborhood. 


OLD   ABE   "GLAD  OF  IT." 

A  characteristic  story  of  the  president  is  narrated  in  a  letter  from  Washing 
ton.  When  the  telegram  from  Cumberland  Gap  reached  Mr.  Lincoln,  that 
"firing  was  «hgard  in  the  direction  of  Knoxville,"  he  remarked  that  he  was  "glad 
of  it.'1  Some  person  present,  who  had  the  peril  of  Burnside's  position  uppermost 
in  his  mind,  could  not  see  why  Mr.  Lincoln  should  be  glad  of  it,  and  so  expressed 
himself. 

"  Why,  you  see,"  responded  the  president,  u  it  reminds  me  of  Mrs.  Sallie 
Ward,  a  neighbor  of  mine,  who  had  a  very  large  family.  Occasionally  one  ot 
her  numerous  progeny  would  be  heard  crying  in  some  out-of-the-way  placev 
upon  which  Mrs.  Sallie  would  exclaim,  '  There's  one  of  my  children  that  isn't 
dead  yet.' " 


ANECDOTES.  801 

MR.   LINCOLN'S  GENEROSITY. 

While  President  Lincoln  was  confined  to  his  house  with  the  varioloid,  some 
friends  called  to  sympathize  with  him,  especially  on  the  character  of  his  disease. 

*•  Yes,"  he  said,  "  it  is  a  bad  disease,  but  it  has  its  advantages.  For  the  first 
time  since  I  have  been  in  office  I  have  something  now  to  give  to  every  person 
that  calls.1' 


LINCOLN   AND  STANTON  FIXING  UP  PEACE  BETWEEN  THE  TWO 

CONTENDING  ARMIES. 

On  the  night  of  March  3d,  the  secretary  of  war,  with  others  of  the  Cabinet, 
was  in  the  company  of  the  president,  at  the  Capitol,  awaiting  the  passage  of 
the  final  bills  of  Congress.  In  the  intervals  of  reading  and  signing  these  doc 
uments,  the  military  situation  was  considered — the  lively  conversation,  tinged  by 
the  confident  and  glowing  account  of  General  Grant,  of  his  mastery  of  the  posi 
tion,  and  of  his  belief  th<it  a  few  days  more  would  see  Richmond  in  our 
possession,  and  the  army  of  Lee  either  dispersed  utterly  or  captured  bodily — 
when  the  telegram  from  Grant  was  received  saying  that  Lee  had  asked  an  inter 
view  with  reference  to  peace.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  elated,  and  the  kindness  of  his 
heart  was  manifest  in  intimations  of  favorable  terms  to  be  granted  to  the  con 
quered  rebels. 

Stanton  listened  in  silence,  restraining  his  emotion,  but  at  length  the  tide 
burst  forth: 

"Mr.  President,1'  said  he,  u  to-morrow  is  inauguration  day.  If  you  are  not  to 
be  the  president  of  an  obedient  and  united  people,  you  had  better  not  be  inaugu 
rated.  Your  work  is  already  done,  if  any  other  authority  than  yours  is  for  one 
moment  to  be  recognized,  or  any  terms  made  that  do  not  signify  that  you  are 
the  supreme  head  of  the  nation.  If  generals  in  the  field  are  to  negotiate  peace, 
or  any  other  chief  magistrate  is  to  be  acknowledged  on  this  continent,  then  you 
are  not  needed,  and  you  had  better  not  take  the  oath  of  office." 

"k  Stanton,  you  are  right,1'  said  the  president,  his  whole  tone  changing.  uLet 
me  have  a  pen.' 

Mr.  Lincoln  sat  down  to  the  table,  and  wrote  as  follows: 

"The  president  directs  me  to  say  to  you  that  he  wishes  you  to  have  no  confer 
ence  with  General  Lee,  unless  it  be  for  the  capitulation  of  Lee's  army,  or  on 
some  minor  or  purely  military  matter.  He  instructs  me  to  say  that  you  are  not 
to  decide,  discuss  or  confer  upon  any  political  question.  Such  questions  the 
president  holds  in  his  own  hands,  and  will  submit  them  to  no  military  confer 
ences  or  conventions.  In  the  meantime  you  are  to  press  to  the  utmost  your 
military  advantages." 

The  president  read  over  what  he  had  written,  and  then  said: 

''Now,  Stanton,  date  and  sign  this  paper,  and  send  it  to  Grant.  We'll  see 
about  this  peace  business." 

The  duty  was  discharged  only  too  gladly  by  the  energetic  secretary. 


302  ANECDOTES. 

STORIES   ILLUSTRATING  LINCOLN'S  MEMORY. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  memory  was  very  remarkable.  At  one  of  the  afternoon  recep 
tions  at  the  White  House,  a  stranger  shook  hands  with  him,  and  as  he  did  so 
remarked,  casually,  that  he  was  elected  to  Congress  about  the  time  Mr.  Lincoln's 
term  as  representative  expired,  which  happened  many  years  before. 

"Yes,"  said  the  president,  "you  are  from—  — /'mentioning  the  state.  "I 
remember  reading  of  your  election  in  a  newspaper  one  morning  on  a  steamboat 
going  down  to  Mount  Vernon." 

At  another  time  a  gentleman  addressed  him,  saying: 

"I  presume,  Mr.   President,  you  have  forgotten  me?" 

u  No,"  was  the  prompt  reply;  "your name  is  Flood.  I  saw  you  last  twelve 
years  ago,  at  —  — ,"  naming  the  place  and  the  occasion.  "  I  am  glad  to  see,"  he 
continued,  "that  the  Flood  flows  on." 

Subsequent  to  his  re-election  a  deputation  of  bankers  from  various  sections 
were  introduced  one  d.iy  by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury.  After  a  few  moments 
of  general  conversation,  Mr.  Lincoln  turned  to  one  of  them  and  said: 

"  Your  district  did  not  give  me  so  strong  a  vote  at  the  last  election  as  it  did  in 
1860." 

"I  think,  sir,  that  you  must  be  mistaken,"  replied  the  banker.  UI  have  the 
impression  that  your  majority  was  considerably  increased  at  the  last  election." 

"  No,"  rejoined  the  president,  "you   fell  off  about  six  hundred  votes." 
.  Then  taking  down  from  the  bookcase  the  official  canvass  of   1860  and  1864, 
he  referred  to  the  vote  of  the  district  named,  and  proved  to  be  quite  right  in  his 
assertion. 


BIG  BRINDLE  AND   THE    HIGHFALUTIN  COLONEL. 

President  Lincoln  tells  the  following  story  of  Colonel  W.,  who  had  been 
elected  to  the  legislature,  and  had  also  been  judge  of  the  county  court.  His 
elevation,  however,  had  made  him  somewhat  pompous,  and  he  became  very  fond 
of  using  big  words.  On  his  farm  he  had  a  very  large  and  mischievous  ox,  called 
"Big  Brindle,"  which  very  frequently  broke  down  his  neighbors'  fences,  and 
committed  other  depredations,  much  to  the  colonel's  annoyance. 

One  morning  after  breakfast,  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  had  stayed 
with  him  over  night,  and  who  was  on  his  way  to  town,  he  called  his  overseer  and 
said  to  him : 

"  Mr.  Allen,  I  desire  you  to  impound  Big  Brindle,  in  order  that  I  may  hear  no 
animadversions  on  his  eternal  depredations." 

Allen  bowed  and  walked  off",  sorely  puzzled  to  know  what  the  colonel  meant. 
So  after  Colonel  W.  left  for  town,  he  went  to  his  wife  and  asked  her  what  Colonel 
W.  meant  by  telling  him  to  impound  the  ox. 

"  Why,  he  meant  to  tell  you  to  put  him  in  a  pen,"  said  she. 

Allen  left  to  perform  the  feat,  for  it  was  no  inconsiderable  one,  as  the  animal 
was  wild  and  vicious,  and,  after  a  great  deal  of  trouble  and  vexation,  succeeded. 


ANECDOTES.  303 

"Well, "said  he,  wiping  the  perspiration  from  his  brow  and  soliloquizing, 
"this  is  impounding,  is  it?  Now,  I  am  dead  sure  that  the  colonel  will  ask  me  if  I 
impounded  Big  Brindle,  and  I'll  bet  I  puzzle  him  as  he  did  me.'1 

The  next  day  the  colonel  gave  a  dinner  party,  and  as  he  was  not  aristocratic, 
Mr.  Allen,  the  overseer,  sat  down  with  the  company.  After  the  second  or  third 
glass  was  discussed,  the  colonel  turned  to  the  overseer  and  said: 

"Eh,  Mr.  Allen,  did  you  impound  Big  Brindle,  sir?1' 

Allen  straightened  himself,  and  looking  around  at  the  company,  replied: 

"Yes,  I  did,  sir;  but  old  Brindle  transcended  the  impannel  of  the  impound,  and 
scatterlo'phisticated  all  over  the  equanimity  of  the  forest.'1 

The  company  burst  into  an  immoderate  fit  of  laughter,  while  the  colonel's 
face  reddened  with  discomfiture. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that,  sir?"  said  the  colonel. 

"  Why,  I  mean,  colonel,1'  said  Allen,  "  that  old  Brindle,  being  prognosticated 
with  an  idea  of  the  cholera,  ripped  and  teared,  snorted  and  pawed  dirt,  jumped  the 
fence,  tuck  to  the  woods,  and  would  not  be  impounded  nohow." 

This  was  too  much;  the  company  roared  again,  in  which  the  colonel  was 
forced  to  join,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  laughter  Allen  left  the  table,  saying  to 
himself  as  he  went,  "  I  reckon  the  colonel  Avon't  ask  me  to  impound  any  more 
oxen." 


HE  HAD   ONLY   LOST  A   LEG. 


A  gentleman  visiting  a  hospital  at  Washington,  heard  an  occupant  of  one 
of  the  beds  laughing  and  talking  about  the  president.  He  seemed  to  be  in  such 
good  spirits  that  the  gentleman  remarked: 

"You  must  be  very  slightly  wounded?" 

"Yes,"  said  the  brave  fellow,  "very  slightly— I  have  only  lost  one  leg." 


AN   APT   ILLUSTRATION. 

At  the  White  House  one  day  some  gentlemen  were  present  from  the  West, 
excited  and  troubled  about  the  commissions  or  omissions  of  the  administration. 
The  president  heard  them  patiently,  and  then  replied: 

"  Gentlemen,  suppose  all  the  property  you  have  were  in  gold,  and  you  had  put 
it  in  the  hands  of  Blondin  to  carry  across  the  Niagara  river  on  a  rope,  would  you 
shake  the  cable,  or  keep  shouting  out  to  him,  'Blondin,  stand  up  a  little 
straighter — Blondin,  stoop  a  little  more — go  a  little  faster — lean  a  little  more  to 
the  north — lean  a  little  more  to  the  south?'  No!  you  would  hold  your  breath 
as  well  as  your  tongue,  and  keep  your  hands  off  until  he  was  safe  over.  The 
government  is  carrying  an  immense  weight.  Untold  treasures  are  in  her  hands. 
They  are  doing  the  very  best  they  can.  Don't  badger  them.  Keep  silence,  and 
we'll  get  you  safe  across." 


304  ANECDOTES. 

DR.    EDWARDS  BUMPING    THE   PRESIDENT. 

The  popular  editor  of  the  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate,  Dr.  Arthur 
Edwards,  is  responsible  for  the  following,  which  we  take  from  the  editorials  ot 
his  excellent  paper: 

"Early  in  the  war  it  became  this  writer's  duty,  for  a  brief  period,  to  carry  cer 
tain  reports  to  the  War  Department,  in  Washington,  at  about  nine  in  the  morning. 
Being  late  one  morning,  we  were  in  a  desperate  hurry  to  deliver  the  papers,  in 
order  to  be  able  to  catch  the  train  returning  to  camp. 

u  On  the  winding,  dark  staircase  of  the  old  War  Department,  which  many  will 
remenibar,  it  was  our  misfortune,  while  taking  about  three  stairs  at  a  time,  to  run 
a  certain  head  like  a  catapult  into  the  body  of  the  president,  striking  him  in  the 
region  of  the  right  lower  vest  pocket. 

"  The  usual  surprised  and  relaxed  grunt  of  a  man  thus  assailed  came  promptly. 
We  quickly  sent  an  apology  in  the  direction  of  the  dimly  seen  form,  feeling  that 
the  ungracious  shock  was  expensive,  even  to  the  humblest  clerk  in  the  department. 

UA  second  glance  revealed  to  us  the  president  as  the  victim  of  the  collision. 
Then  followed  a  special  tender  of  'ten  thousand  pardons,1  and  the  president's  reply: 

"  ;  One's  enough;  I  wish  the  whole  army  would  charge  like  that.'" 


ONE  OF   MR.    LINCOLN'S   WITTIEST   UTTERANCES. 

Dr.  Hovey,  of  Dansville,  New  York,  thought  he  would  call  and  see  the  pres 
ident,  and,  on  arriving  at  the  White  House,  found  him  on  horseback,  ready  for  a 
start.  Approaching  him,  he  said: 

u  President  Lincoln,  I  thought  I  would  call  and  see  you  before  leaving  the 
city,  and  hear  you  tell  a  story." 

The  president  greeted  him  pleasantly,  and  asked  where  he  was  from. 

The  reply  was,  "  From  western  New  York." 

"  Well,  that's  a  good  enough  country  without  stories,"  replied  the  president, 
and  off  he  rode.  That  was  the  story. 


MR.   LINCOLN   AND  THE   GEORGETOWN  PROPHETESS. 

The  president,  like  Old  King  Saul,  when  his  term  was  about  to  expire,  seems 
in  a  quandary  concerning  a  further  lease  of  office.  He  consulted  again  the 
"  prophetess"  of  Georgetown,  immortalized  by  his  patronage.  She  retired  to 
an  inner  chamber,  and,  after  raising  and  consulting  more  than  a  dozen  of 
distinguished  spirits  from  Hades,  she  returned  to  the  reception-parlor  where 
the  chief  magistrate  awaited  her,  and  declared  that  General  Grant  would 
capture  Richmond,  and  that  Honest  Old  Abe  would  be  next  president.  She, 
however,  as  the  report  goes,  told  him  to  beware  of  Chase. 


ANECDOTES.  305 

AN  INAUGURATION   INCIDENT. 

Noah  Brooks,  in  his  u  Reminiscences,"  relates  the  following  incident: 
u  While  the  ceremonies  of  the  second  inauguration  were  in  progress,  just  as 
Lincoln  stepped  forward  to  take  the  oath   of  office,   the  sun,  which  had  been 
obscured  by  rain-clouds,  burst  forth  in  splendor.     In  conversation  the  next  day, 
the  president  asked: 

UiDid  you  notice  that  sun-burst?  It  made  my  heart  jump.' 
u  Later  in  the  month,  Miss  Anna  Dickinson,  in  a  lecture  delivered  in  the  hall 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  eloquently  alluded  to  the  sun-burst  as  a  happy 
omen.  The  president  sat  directly  in  front  of  the  speaker,  and,  from  the  reporter's 
gallery  behind  her,  I  had  caught  his  eye,  soon  after  he  sat  down.  When  Miss 
Dickinson  referred  to  the  sunbeam,  he  looked  up  at  me,  involuntarily,  and  I 
thought  his  eyes  were  suffused  with  moisture.  Perhaps  they  were;  but  the  next 
day  he  said: 

utl  wonder  if  Miss  Dickinson  saw  me  wink  at  you?" 


THE  NATURALNESS   OF  LINCOLN. 

The  Rev.  Robert  Mclntyre,  in  a  Lincoln  eulogy  at  the  Auditorium,  Chicago, 
among  other  good  things,  said: 

;-  One  day  at  the  cabin  in  which  Mr.  Lincoln  spent  his  early  years  I  was  told 
this  story:  Sometime  before  he  was  elected  president,  Mr.  Lincoln  visited  some 
of  his  people  there,  and  he  stood  in  the  doorway  watching  a  summer  shower 
hunted  by  a  pack  of  sunbeams,  which  laid  the  rain  in  puddles  gleaming  in  the 
yard. 

"  They  say  that  Mr.  Lincoln,  taking  up  a  little  girl  who  was  kin  to  him, 
carried  her  out  into  the  yard  and  dipped  her  baby  feet  in  the  mud-puddle. 
Then,  carrying  her  into  the  cabin,  he  lifted  her  and  marked  the  ceiling  with  her 
feet,  leaving  marks  that  remained  there  for  many  years.  We  are  told  that  some 
thing  of  that  kind  happened  to  him,  by  a  power  greater  than  himself  that  lifted 
him  up  among  the  heights  and  leaving  those  footprints  that  will  shine  forever  in 
the  annals  of  human  endeavor.  I  do  not  like  this  theory  because  it  takes  away 
hope  from  our  youth. 

u  Lincoln  was  like  other  men.  He  was  not  a  miraculous  man  in  any  sense  of 
the  word.  He  had,  indeed,  less  of  the  supernatural  about  him  than  any  man  in 
history,  and  more  of  the  natural,  and  it  was  this  that  made  him  so  great  and 
lovable  in  the  eyes  of  the  people. 

"Washington  has  been  idealized  until  we  have  forgotten  his  real  character. 
I  confess  he  is  a  nebulous  character  to  me. 

uNow  they  are  going  to  refine  and  sandpaper  and  veneer  Lincoln  until 
nothing  of  the  simple,  loving,  commonplace  soul  is  left  to  us.  We  don't  want 
this.  WTe  want  him  just  as  he  is." 


306  ANECDOTES. 

AN   AMUSING  STORY   CONCERNING  THOMPSON  CAMPBELL. 

Among  the  numerous  visitors  on  one  of  the  president's  reception-days  were  a 
party  of  congressmen,  among  whom  was  the  Hon.  Thomas  Shannon,  of 
California.  Soon  after  the  customary  greeting,  Mr.  Shannon  said: 

"Mr.  President,  I  met  an  old  friend  of  yours  in  California  last  summer, 
Thompson  Campbell,  who  had  a  good  deal  to  say  of  your  Springfield  life.11 

"Ah!"  returned  Mr.  Lincohi,  UI  am  glad  to  hear  of  him.  Campbell  used  to 
be  a  dry  fellow,1'  he  continued.  "  For  a  time  he  was  secretary  of  state.  One 
day,  during  the  legislative  vacation,  a  meek,  cadaverous-looking  man,  with  a 
white  neck-cloth,  introduced  himself  to  him  at  his  office,  and  stating  that  he  had 
been  informed  that  Mr.  C.  had  the  letting  of  the  assembly  chamber,  said  that  he 
wished  to  secure  it,  if  possible,  for  a  course  of  lectures  he  desired  to  deliver  in 
Springfield. 

"'May  I  ask,'  said  the  secretary,  'what  is  to  be  the  subject  of  your  lectures ?T 

" '  Certainly,'  was  the  reply,  with  a  very  solemn  expression  of  countenance. 
4  The  course  I  wish  to  deliver  is  on  the  second  coming  of  our  Lord.' 

"'It  is  no  use,'  said  Mr.  C.  'If  you  will  take  my  advice,  you  will  not  waste 
your  time  in  this  city.  It  is  my  private  opinion  that  if  the  Lord  has  been  in 
Springfield  once,  he  will  not  come  the  second  time! ' ' 


REMINISCENCES— THE  TURNING-POINT. 

It  was  while  young  Lincoln  was  engaged  in  the  duties  of  Offutt's  store  that 
the  turning-point  of  his  life  occurred.  Here  he  commenced  the  study  of  English 
grammar.  There  was  not  a  text-book  to  be  obtained  in  the  neighborhood,  but. 
hearing  that  there  was  a  copy  of  Kirkham's  grammar  in  the  possession  of  a 
person  seven  or  eight  miles  distant,  he  walked  to  his  house,  and  succeeded  in 
borrowing  it. 

L.  M.  Green,  a  lawyer  in  Petersburg,  Menard  county,  says  that  every  time  he 
visited  New  Salem,  at  this  period,  Lincoln  took  him  out  upon  a  hill  and  asked 
him  to  explain  some  point  in  Kirkham  that  had  given  him  trouble.  After  having 
mastered  the  book,  he  remarked  to  a  friend  that  if  that  was  what  was  called  a 
science,  he  thought  he  could  "subdue  another." 

Mr.  Green  says  that  Mr.  Lincoln's  talk  at  this  time  showed  that  he  was 
beginning  to  think  of  a  great  life  and  a  great  destiny.  Lincoln  said  to  him,  on 
one  occasion,  that  all  his  family  seemed  to  have  good  sense,  but  somehow  none 
had  ever  .become  distinguished.  He  thought  that  perhaps  he  might  become  so. 
He  had  talked,  he  said,  with  men  who  had  the  reputation  of  being  great  men,  but 
he  could  not  see  that  they  differed  much  from  others. 

During  this  year  he  was  also  much  engaged  with  debating-clubs,  often  walk 
ing  six  or  seven  miles  to  attend  them.  One  of  these  clubs  held  its  meetings  at 
an  old  storehouse  in  New  Salem,  and  the  first  speech  young  Lincoln  ever  made 
was  made  there. 


ANECDOTES.  307 

He  used  to  call  the  exercise  "practising  polemics."  As  these  clubs  were 
-composed  principally  of  men  of  no  education  whatever,  some  of  their  u  polemics" 
.are  remembered  as  the  most  laughable  farces. 

One  gentleman  who  met  him  during  this  period  says  the  first  time  he  saw 
him  he  was  lying  on  a  trundle-bed  covered  with  books  and  papers  and  rocking  a 
•cradle  with  his  foot. 

The  whole  scene,  however,  was  entirely  characteristic — Lincoln  reading  and 
.studying,  and  at  the  same  time  helping  his  landlady  by  quieting  her  child. 

A  gentleman  who  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  well  in  early  manhood  says:  " Lincoln 
.at  this  period  had  nothing  but  plenty  of  friends. 

Says  J.  G.  Holland:  "No  man  ever  lived,  probably,  who  was  more  of  a  self- 
made  man  than  Abraham  Lincoln.  Not  a  circumstance  of  life  favored  the  devel 
opment  which  he  had  reached." 

AfteV  the  customary  hand-shaking  on  one  occasion  at  Washington,  several 
gentlemen  came  forward  and  asked  the  president  for  his  autograph.  One  of 
them  gave  his  name  as  "  Cruikshank."  "That  reminds  me,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln, 
uof  what  I  used  to  be  called  when  a  young  man — l  Long -shank s/" 

Mr.  Holland  says:  "Lincoln  was  a  religious  man.  The  fact  may  be  stated 
without  any  reservation — with  only  an  explanation.  He  believed  in  God,  and  in 
Tiis  personal  supervision  of  the  affairs  of  men.  He  believed  himself  to  be  under 
his  control  and  guidance.  He  believed  in  the  power  and  ultimate  triumph  of  the 
right,  through  his  belief  in  God." 

A  prominent  writer  says:  "Lincoln  was  a  childlike  man.  No  public  man 
of  modern  days  has  been  fortunate  enough  to  carry  into  his  manhood  so  much 
or  the  directness,  truthfulness  and  simplicity  of  childhood  as  distinguished  him. 
He  was  exactly  what  he  seemed." 

Mr.  Lincoln  and  Douglas  met  for  the  first  time  when  the  latter  was  only 
twenty-three  years  of  age.  Lincoln,  in  speaking  of  the  fact,  subsequently  said 
that  Douglas  was  then  "the  least  man  he  ever  saw."  He  was  not  only  very 
.short,  but  very  slender. 


OLD   ABE  NEVER  HEARD  OF  IT  BEFORE. 

Some  moral  philosopher  was  telling  the  president  one  day  about  the  under 
current  of  public  opinion.  He  went  on  to  explain  at  length,  and  drew  an  illus 
tration  from  the  Mediterranean  sea.  The  current  seemed  very  curiously  to  flow  in 
both  from  the  Black  sea  and  the  Atlantic  ocean,  but  a  shrewd  Yankee,  by  means 
of  a  contrivance  of  floats,  had  discovered  that  at  the  outlet  into  the  Atlantic  only 
about  thirty  feet  of  the  surface  water  flowed  inward,  while  there  was  a  tre 
mendous  current  under  thatflowing  out. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  much  bored,  "that  don't  remind  me  of  any  story  I 
-ever  heard." 

The  philosopher  despaired  of  making  a  serious  impression  by  his  argument, 
and  left. 


308  ANECDOTES. 

HOW  LINCOLN  AND  JUDGE   B.   SWAPPED  HORSES. 

When  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  lawyer  in  Illinois,  he  and  a  certain  judge  once 
got  to  bantering  one  another  about  trading  horses;  and  it  was  agreed  that  the 
next  morning  at  nine  o'clock  they  should  make  a  trade,  the  horses  to  be  unseen 
up  to  that  hour,  and  no  backing  out,  under  a  forfeiture  of  twenty-five  dollars. 

At  the  hour  appointed,  the  judge  came  up,  leading  the  sorriest-looking  spec 
imen  of  a  horse  ever  seen  in  those  parts.  In  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Lincoln  was  seen 
approaching  with  a  wooden  sawhorse  upon  his  shoulders.  Great  were  the 
shouts  and  the  laughter  of  the  crowd,  and  both  were  greatly  increased  when  Mr. 
Lincoln,  on  surveying  the  judge's  animal,  set  down  his  sawhorse,  and  exclaimed: 

u  Well,  judge,  this  is  the  first  time  I  ever  got  the  worst  of  it  in  a  horse-trade.'* 


SENATOR  CULLUM'S  INTERESTING  REMINISCENCES  OF   LINCOLN. 

At  the  third  annual  banquet  of  the  Lincoln  Association  of  Philadelphiar 
given  February  12,  1894,  Senator  Cullum,  of  Illinois,  among  other  good  things,, 
gave  the  following  reminiscences: 

"It  was  my  fortune  to  know  Mr.  Lincoln  well.  My  knowledge  of  him  dates 
back  in  my  own  life  to  the  time  I  was  ten  or  twelve  years  old;  and  even  before 
this  time  E  can  remember  that  men  would  come  twenty  or  thirty  miles  to  see  my 
father  in  those  pioneer  days  to  learn  whom  to  employ  as  a  lawyer,  when  they 
were  likely  to  have  cases  in  court.  He  would  say  to  them,  'If  Judge  Stephen 
T.  Logan  is  there,  employ  him:  if  he  is  not,  there  is  a  young  man  by  the  name  cf 
Lincoln  who  will  do  just  about  as  well.' 

"In  my  boyhood  days  I  was  permitted   to  attend  the  sessions  of  the  circuit 
court  one  week  twice  a  year.     The  first  time   I  enjoyed  the  privilege  I  saw  Mr 
Lincoln  and   the  gallant  Colonel   E.   D.  Baker  engaged  in  defense   of    a  man 
charged  with  the  crime  of  murder.     That  great  trial,  especially  the  defense  by 
those  great  lawyers,  made  an  impression  on  my  mind  which  will  never  be  effaced. 

"Late  in  1846,  when  Mr.  Lincoln  became  a  Whig  candidate  for  Congress,  I 
heard  him  deliver  a  political  speech.  The  county  in  which  my  father  and  family 
resided  was  a  part  of  his  congressional  district.  When  Mr.  Lincoln  came  to  the- 
county,  my  father  met  him  with  his  carriage,  and  took  him  to  all  of  his 
appointments.  I  went  to  the  meeting  nearest  my  home;  it  was  an  open-air 
meeting  in  a  grove.  On  being  introduced,  Mr.  Lincoln  began  his  speech  as 
follows: 

"  'Fellow-citizens,  ever  since  I  have  been  in  Tazewell  county  my  old  friend 
Major  Cullum  has  taken  me  around.  He  has  heard  all  my  speeches,  and  the 
only  way  I  can  fool  the  old  major  and  make  him  believe  I  am  making  a  new 
speech  is  by  turning  it  end  for  end  once  in  awhile.' 

"I  knew  him  at  the  bar,  both  when  I  was  a  boy,  and  afterward  when  I  came 
to  the  practise  of  the  law  in  the  capital  of  Illinois,  his  home  then,  mine  now.  1 


I 
ANECDOTES.  309 

knew  him  in  the  private  walks  of  life,  in  the  law-office,  in  the  court-room,  in  the 
political  campaigns  of  the  time,  and  to  the  close  of  his  great  caieer.  I  knew 
him  as  the  leader  of  the  great  Republican  party,  when,  as  now,  it  was  full  of 
enthusiasm  for  liberty  and  equal  rights;  when  the  platform  was,  in  substance, 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  he  was  its  champion. 

''He  believed  in  'preserving  the  jewel  of  liberty  in  the  family  of  freedom  T 
Aye,  he  believed  in  making  the  American  people  one  great  family  of  freedom. 

"  I  heard  much  of  the  great  debate  between  him  and  Douglas,  the  greatest 
political  debate  that  ever  took  place  in  America.  I  heard  him  utter  the  memor 
able  words  in  the  Republican  convention  of  my  state  in  1858: 

"'A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand.  I  believe  this  government 
cannot  permanently  endure  half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not  expect  the  Union 
to  ba  dissolved,  I  do  nob  expacfc  the  house  to  fall,  but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to 
be  divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the  other.' 

"  What  words  of  wisdom!  He  could  look  through  the  veil  between  him  and 
the  future  and  see  the  end.  It  is  said  that  before  this  great  speech  was  delivered 
he  read  it  to  friends,  and  all  of  them  but  one  advised  against  its  delivery.  With 
a  self-reliance  born  of  earnest  conviction,  he  said  the  time  had  come  when  these 
sentiments  should  be  uttered,  and  that  if  he  should  go  down  because  of  their 
utterances  by  him,  then  he  would  go  down  linked  with  the  truth. 

"  ft  lifts  up  and  ennobles  mankind  to  hear  and  study  brave  words  of  truth 
uttered  by  great  men.  'Let  me  die  in  the  advocacy  of  what  is  just  and  right,' 
he  said  again. 

"In  these  days  of  apparent  shallow  convictions  on  many  subjects,  days  of 
greed  for  wealth,  of  rushing  for  the  mighty  dollar,  is  it  not  well  to  pause  and 
think  over  the  lives  of  great  men  of  our  own  country  and  the  world?  We  are 
now  [1894]  in  the  very  shadow  of  the  death  of  a  great  and  good  man,  George 
W.  Childs,  just  passed  away.  A  man  who  lived  to  do  good;  to  make  the  pathway 
of  his  fellows  smoother  and  easier;  a  great-hearted  philanthropist  whose  fame  is 
world-wide,  and  will  endure  as  long  as  sympathy  and  generosity  are  found  in  the 
human  heart. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  great  debater,  as  was  Douglas.  They  often  met  in 
debate.  On  one  occasion  Douglas  charged  that  there  was  an  alliance  between 
Lincoln  and  the  Federal  office-holders,  and  that  he  would  deal  with  them  as  the 
Russians  did  with  the  allies  in  the  Crimean  war,  not  stopping  to  inquire  whether 
an  Englishman,  Frenchman  or  Turk  was  hit.  Lincoln  replied,  denying  the 
alliance,  but  mildly  suggested  to  Douglas  that  the  allies  took  Sebastopol. 

"  Lincoln  was  a  man  of  faith  in  the  right  when  the  great  contest  between 
him  and  Douglas  ended,  and  the  election  was  over.  Lincoln  had  carried  the 
popular  vote  of  that  state,  but  Douglas  secured  a  majority  of  the  Legislature. 

When  it  was  settled  that  Douglas  had  triumphed  in  securing  a  majority  of 
the  Legislature,  I  happened  to  meet  Mr.  Lincoln  in  the  street,  and  said  to  him, 
4  Is  it  true  that  Douglas  has  a  majority  of  the  Legislature?  ' 

"He  said  'yes.' 


"  1  -        .  ippointed,  and  so  express   :.  D  f»  If,  when  he  said: 

••  •  No  MM-   mind.  m\  K<> .  it  will  i  [|   right,'  and  in  two  years  from  that 

tontrj  w:is  ftblan  with  Iv-ntiros  all  over  the  land  celebrating  its  first 

onal  Repub)  ryia          '<vt  ion  as  president  of  the  United  States. 

\:  ':•..,-  ;d  that.  Mr.  1              never  went  to  school.     He  never  did  verv 

hut   ir.  ho  was  an  educated  man.     He  was  a  student—a 

thinker     ho  e  t.   and   mastered   any   question  that   claimed    his 

"In  my  W  -        u  no  man  in  this  country  possessing  greater  power 

of  aiulv.-at-.on   than  he  did*     Webster  and   Lincoln,  while  unlike  in  intellect, 
^        kn  i:reatest  men  intellectually  this  country  has  produced, 

"Mr.  1  >vas  said  to  be  slow  and   timid  when  as  president  he  walked 

along  the  dancer-path  before  him.     He  learned  the  truth  of  an  observation  by 
.  'that  whoever  enters  upon   public  life  should  take  care  that  the  ques- 
ueasure  is  virtuous  be  not  the  sole  consideration,  but  also  how 
far  ho  m  v  he  moans  of  carrying  it  into  execution^  So  in  the  great  strug 

gle  for  national  life,  he  sought  to  go  on  no  faster  than  he  could  induce  the  loyal 

«  :  h  him. 

rt  As  we  1     \      ck  over  the  period  of  agitation  of  slavery  and  of  the  great 

civil   w.;.v.    NVO   soo  Lincoln  towering  above  all  as  the  savior  of   his  country, 

^rof  three  millions  of  slaves.   Lincoln  was  a  shrewd  and  crafty 

man       LK     .  as  you  remember,  Vallandigham,  of  Ohio,  was  sent  South,  through 

S  bo  got  round  on  the  Canada  border,  and  finally  returned  home 

People  thought  his  return  would  cause  trouble. 

**lt    s  m  cTiiando  Wood  called  on   the  president,   and  cautiously 

inquired  if  he  had  been  informed  that  Vallandigham   had  got  home.     Lincoln 
-      iing  him  South  he  had  broken  his  power  for  evil,  and  in  reply 
111    \\       •  ho  said: 

V  .  sir;  I  have  received  no  official  information  of  that  act*  and  what  is 
-  ;.  to.* 

\      :hor  illustration  of  hi>  cood  nature  and  shrewdness  is  told.     As 

tho  war  approached  its  close,  Mr,  Lincoln  and  General  Sherman  were  in  con 
sultation  at  City  Point    One  of  the  quo  s        i     onsidered  was  what  should  be 
with  Jeff.  DAVIS  when  captured.     General  Sherman  inquired  if  he  should 
let  him  escape,     Mr.  Lincoln  told  him  the  story  of  the  temperance  lecturer  who 
lentifullj  supplied  with  lemonade.     The  host  in  a  modest  way  inquired  if 
the  least  bit  of  something  stronger  to  brace  him  up  would  be  agreeable.    The 
rer  answered  he  could  not  think  of  it  he  was  opposed  to  it  on  principle; 
but^  glancing  at  the  black  bottle  near  by,  he  added: 

If  you  could  manage  to  put  in  a  little  drop  unbeknown  to  me,  it  wouldn't 
hurt  me  much.11 

N  .-  w.  general^  said  Mr,  Lincoln,  *  I  am  bound  to  oppose  the  escape  of  Jeff. 
Davis,  but  if  you  can  manage  to  let  him  slip  out  unbeknownst-like,  I  gv,  ess 
•won't  hurt  me  much," 


-  Mr,  Linfi/>In  wa*  never  disturbed  by  Kit]*  thing*,     Mr.  Cbaae  wa* 
Ltneoln'a  *e»';r**Ary  of  the  treasury .     A  -  tne  tins*  approached  for  the  presidential 
BMnatioTL.  Mr.  timtdm  mm  mm&mts.  0  a  ^ndkiate,  and  Mr  O.a*e  wa*  * 
eaadirfate,  rrtmtMg  lie  plaee  ia  the  Cabinet.     Being  in  Washington  for  a  time, 
I  had  a  eon  venation  with  Mr,  L  neoln  aiyvst  Mr  Cha****  eandidaey,  and  I  advised 
Mr  Ltaeoln  to  torn  kimo«at.     He  replied: 

*  Xo.  Let  him  alone;  he  eani  <i  >  me  no  •<jg  harm  Jn  offie*  than  out/ 

-  When  tfcs  ffMtfevI  wa§  cmHHknii^  Mr  Gu*e  in  eonn^etion  with  the  higlt 
f&M  of  ehiftf  j  i«ti««:  of  the  United    :»tai^t,  a  d^iitation  of  great  men  from 
Ohio  (Ohio  always  ha4  and  ha«  yet  many )  ^ame  to  Wafthtngt^n  to  protest  ^grfffffl 
Mr.  Cftase'*  ippoi a tment.  and  ffgaratoj  HM»  letter*  at  some  time  written  by  Mr 
Chase,  erilkmag  Mr,  Ltr.^o.n,     He  read  them,  and,  with  his  ncnal  gcod  natore* 
remarked: 

'  *  If  Mr  C?.a*i  k»  flanl  ir>me  hard  things  jkoat  me,  I  in  turn  hare  «oid  J<MB< 
r-*ri  thlig.*  aboiat  kiss,  w  t.V:h.  I  g  -e»,  jajMiti  the  a^^O'int." 
*"  Mr  Cnaae  wa.4  appotBted. 

-  He  was  an  America  in  the  highest  sen.^e.  He  &MtA  for  America;  for  liberty, 
f .,r  the  T*n\m  ititm  of  Independence,  for  er|mality  of  right*,  and  he  journeyed 
from  his  kiomr  to  th«  national  Capitol  to  obey  the  call  of  the  fggp|gt  and  guide 
(lie  $inp  of  t^ate  throogk  the  portending  jitorm :  he  eame  to  his  own  historie  eity« 
and  ia  oJd  laaVyaA'SMr  Hall  he  itiliini  'that  if  the  gOTerniwait  Mold  not  be 
*AT*«i  without  giving  up  the  Reeiarotiott  of  Iafcf<»aV«t<,  he  won  Id  rather  be 
i PI •  i ii ••.!**•!  on  the  af«4  than  lannsJ*  i  it,* 

•*  He  wa0  a  Repvfcliean.  a^  we  are;  he  not  only  Mitral  in  union.  MtiiiJj  and 
,  isat  under  hia  gnidanee  the  potiey  of  tike  govern  meat  waa  estah 
aa  bean  •  ifBtiMM'il  far  more  than  thirty  jean,  and  never  «erioaaly  intir 
fered  witt  until  now.  and  whiek  W»  given  tbe  people  •••JTiiayU  ii  prosperity, 

~Hr  pniifiii  sir  ISMJ  g,r»t1iB»<B  IIM  Hf<  aaul  fmilic  alii inani  ipnir  t»  aw  aifir 

12.  l&i&  period  of  peril  to  business  ami  eommerce.     Yea.  ro  aostain  the  honor  of 

onr  antioai  a*  a  iipaiklii  to  atari  faat  Vyaaai'  titlaii^inirg  fla»f«a4g  Jnnp  poverty 

aad  .iKiifiy^  fl^>  •  iff  i  f  f^fff  fry^pyffJ  ^M^fl^ifffff  ft^P^a;  fT  *^""  •^  other 

- 


:'/.        ..-.:•.    : 

A  gentleman  waa  telling  at  tine  White  House  how  a  friend  of  kia  kad  been 
away  from  Sew  Orleans,  as  a  imioniat,  and  how,  on  kia  expulsion,  wken 
-  >  Me  the  writ  by  wkiek  ke  waa  expelled,  the  deputation  wkiek  called  on 
kiai  teii  kin  Out  the  ^wmtttW  m^  a?  thrirmnute  v>d<>  nf*bin%i 
an4  «»  they  kad  mned  no  ille.  and  «npiy  meant  to  make  teat  g»  <rf  kia 

lineolnr  *  tkat  imraub  me  of  a  Kotei-keeper  dow  a 
that  ke  never  had  a  death  in  kis  kotei.  f  or  wkenerer  a  guest 
was  dying  is  kis  horaa*.  ke  earrM  kin  <wit  to  die  in  the  «tr 


312  ANECDOTES. 

LINCOLN'S  VIEWS  OF   GRANT. 

After  he  had  satisfied  himself  with  questions  regarding  the  army,  Mr. 
Lincoln  turned  to  me  and  said: 

"General,  you  have  a  man  down  there  by  the  name  of  Grant,  have  you  not?" 

I  replied:     u  Yes,  sir;  we  have." 

Fixing  on  me  an  earnest  and  somewhat  quizzical  look,  Mr.  Lincoln  asked: 

"  Well,  what  kind  of  a  fellow  is  he?1' 

I  replied:  "  General  Grant  is  a  man  of  whom  one  can  best  judge  by  consider 
ing  the  results  he  has  brought  to  pass.  Belmont,  Donelson,  Shiloh  and  Vicks- 
burg  make  a  pretty  strong  record.  He  certainly  has  developed  the  elements  of  a 
successful  commander.  He  is  very  popular  with  the  army,  which  has  full  con 
fidence  in  his  military  ability.  When  he  makes  his  plans,  he  concentrates  all  his 
-energies  and  all  his  resources  upon  their  execution,  and  I  don't  think  he  ever 
entered  upon  a  campaign  or  into  a  battle  without  a  fixed  determination,  under  all 
circumstances,  to  win,  and  with  a  consciousness  that  he  would  win.  He  fills  the 
full  measure  of  a  great  commander." 

Mr.  Lincoln  listened  closely  to  all  I  said,  and  then  fixing  upon  me  a  most 
earnest  and  serious  look,  he  put  to  me  the  blunt  and  startling  question: 

'*  Does  Grant  ever  get  drunk?" 

1  replied  in  most  emphatic  language:  "  No,  Mr.  President,  Grant  does  not 
get  drunk." 

uls  he  in  the  habit  of  using  liquor?"  asked  the  president,  quickly. 

My  answer  was:  u  My  observation,  depending  on  having  excellent  opportu 
nities  for  judging,  enables  me  to  assert  with  a  good  degree  of  positiveness  that  he 
does  not  use  liquor.  Those  opportunities  have  extended  over  a  period  of  more 
than  two  years,  during  which  time  I  have  seen  him  often,  sometimes  daily,  and  I 
have  never  noticed  the  slightest  indication  of  his  having  used  any  kind  of  liquor. 
On  the  contrary,  I  have,  time  and  again,  seen  him  refuse  to  touch  it." 

There  was  too  much  of  whisky  hospitality  during  the  late  war  for  the  good  of 
the  service  of  the  country.  More  than  once  did  it  happen  that  a  movement  mis 
carried  because  the  officer  charged  with  its  execution  had  imbibed  too  freely  of 
old  Kentucky  Bourbon. 

uln  all  my  intercourse  with  General  Grant,"  I  continued,  in  speaking  to  Mr. 
Lincoln,  "I  never  saw  him  taste  intoxicating  drink.  It  has  been  charged  in 
northern  newspapers  that  Grant  was  under  the  influence  of  liquor  on  the  fields 
of  Donelson  and  Shiloh.  This  charge  is  an  atrocious  calumny,  wickedly  false. 
I  saw  him  repeatedly  during  the  battles  of  Donelson  and  Shiloh  on  the  field,  and 
if  there  were  any  sober  men  on  the  field,  Grant  was  one  of  them.  My  brigade 
and  myself  gave  him  a  Fourth  of  July  dinner  in  Memphis  in  1862.  He,  of 
course,  as  guest,  sat  upon  my  right,  and  as  wine  and  something  stronger  were 
passed  around,  he  turned  his  glass  upside  down,  saying,  'None  for  me.'  I  am 
glad  to  bring  this  testimony  to  you  in  justice  to  a  much-maligned  man." 

"It  is  a  relief  to  me  to  hear  this  statement  from  you,"  said  the  president,  "for 
though  I  have  not  lost  confidence  in  Grant,  I  have  been  a  good  deal  annoyed  by 


ANECDOTES.  313 

reports  which  have  reached  me  of  his  intemperance.  I  have  been  pestered  with 
appeals  to  remove  him  from  the  command  of  that  army.  But  somehow  I  have 
felt  like  trusting  him,  because,  as  you  say,  he  has  accomplished  something.  I 
knew  you  had  been  down  there  with  him,  and  thought  you  would  give  me  reliable 
evidence,  for  I  have  desired  to  get  the  testimony  of  a  living  witness.  Your 
direct  and  positive  declarations  have  given  me  much  satisfaction.  Delegation 
after  delegation  has  called  upon  me  with  the  same  request,  l  Recall  Grant 
from  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,1  as  the  members  of  the 
delegations  were  not  willing  that  their  sons  and  brothers  should  be  under 
the  control  of  an  intemperate  leader.  I  could  not  think  of  relieving  him,, 
and  these  demands  became  very  vexatious.  I  therefore  hit  upon  this  plan  to  stop 
them : 

u  One  day  a  delegation,  headed  by  a  distinguished  doctor  of  divinity  from  New 
York,  who  was  spokesman  for  the  party,  called  on  me  and  made  the  familiar  com 
plaint  and  protest  against  Grant's  being  retained  in  his  command.  After  the 
clergyman  had  concluded  his  remarks,  1  asked  if  any  others  desired  to  add  any 
thing  to  what  had  already  been  said.  They  replied  that  they  did  not.  Then, 
looking  as  serious  as  I  could,  I  said: 

Uk  Doctor,  can  you  tell  me  where  General  Grant  gets  his  liquor?' 

uThe  doctor  seemed  quite  nonplussed,  but  replied  that  he  could  not.  I  then 
said  to  him: 

ktkl  am  very  sorry,  for  if  you  could  tell  me,  I  would  direct  the  chief  quarter 
master  of  the  army  to  lay  in  a  large  stock  of  the  same  kind  of  liquor,  and  would 
also  direct  him  to  furnish  a  supply  to  some  of  my  other  generals,  who  have  never 
yet  won  a  victory.' " 

Then,  giving  me  a  punch,  as  one  will  sometimes  do  when  he  thinks  he  has 
said  something  good,  Mr.  Lincoln  lay  back  in  his  chair  and  laughed  most  heartily. 
He  then  added: 

"  What  I  want  and  what  the  people  want  is  generals  who  will  fight  battles 
and  win  victories.  Grant  has  done  this,  and  I  propose  to  stand  by  him.  I  per 
mitted  this  incident  to  get  into  print,  and  I  have  been  troubled  no  more  with 
delegations  protesting  against  the  retention  of  Grant  in  command  of  that  army." 
Continuing,  Lincoln  said: 

"Somehow  or  other,  I  have  always  felt  a  leaning  toward  Grant,  and  have  been 
inclined  to  place  confidence  in  him.  Ever  since  he  sent  that  memorable  message 
to  Buckner  at  Donelson,  when  the  latter  asked  for  terms  of  surrender— l  No  terms 
but  unconditional  surrender.  I  propose  to  move  immediately  upon  your 
works1 — I  have  had  great  confidence  in  Grant,  and  have  felt  that  he  was  a  man  I 
could  tie  to,  though  I  have  never  seen  him.  It  is  a  source  of  much  satisfaction 
that  my  confidence  in  him  has  not -been  misplaced.11 

The  conversation  then  turned  upon  other  subjects,  the  condition  of  the 
country,  politics,  the  rebellion,  and  the  prospects  of  being  able  to  suppress  it. 
What  seemed  to  cause  Mr.  Lincoln  his  greatest  trouble  was  the  state  of  feeling 
in  certain  of  the  northern  states. 


314  ANECDOTES. 

•'Their  embittered  hostility  against  the  prosecution  of  the  war,"  said  he, 
u  gives  me  more  anxiety  than  the  state  of  affairs  at  the  front.  The  enemy  behind 
us  is  more  dangerous  to  the  country  than  the  enemy  before  us.11  He  said  it  was 
incomprehensible  to  him  that  men  living  in  the  northern  states  in  peace,  and 
secure  in  the  enjoyment  of  every  right  and  blessing  of  citizenship,  should  seek 
by  every  means  in  their  power  to  defeat  the  government  in  this  great  struggle  to 
maintain  its  own  existence. 

Once  in  awhile  in  the  conversation  he  would  cease  speaking;  then  his  eyes 
would  close  and  an  expression  of  sadness  would  spread  over  his  face,  lasting  three 
or  four  minutes.  I,  of  course,  remained  silent.  It  occurred  to  me  that  during 
those  minutes  the  dread  consciousness  of  the  tremendous  responsibilities  resting 
upon  him  was  crowding  upon  his  mind.  What  would  be  the  outcome  was  the 
question  ever  uppermost  in  his  thoughts.  At  length  his  eyes  would  open,  and  he 
would  resume  conversation  with  some  pleasant  remark  or  anecdote.  He  would 
frequently  say,  "I  must  tell  you  a  story,"  and  his  anecdotes  were  always  pertinent 
to  the  conversation. — General  John  M.  Thaijer,  in  the  New  York  Sun. 


LINCOLN  AND  HIS  STEPMOTHER. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Lincoln  entered  upon  his  profession  at  Springfield,  he  was 
engaged  in  a  criminal  case  in  which  it  wTas  thought  there  was  little  chance  of 
success.  Throwing  all  his  powers  into  it,  he  came  off  victorious,  and  promptly 
received  for  his  services  five  hundred  dollars.  A  legal  friend  calling  upon  him 
the  next  morning  found  him  sitting  before  a  table  upon  which  his  money  was 
spread  out,  counting  it  over  and  over. 

u  Look  here,  judge,'1   said   he;  u  see   what  a  heap  of  money  Fve  got  from  the 

—  case.  Did  you  ever  see  anything  like  it?  Why,  I  never  had  so  inuch 
money  in  my  life  before,  put  it  all  together."  Then  crossing  his  arms  upon  the 
table,  his  manner  sobering  down,  he  added,  "  I  have  got  just  five  hundred  dollars;  if 
it  were  only  seven  hundred  and  fifty,  I  would  go  directly  and  purchase  a  quarter- 
section  of  land,  and  settle  it  upon  my  old  stepmother." 

His  friend  said  that  if  the  deficiency  was  all  he  needed,  he  would  loan  him  the 
amount,  taking  his  note,  to  which  Mr.  Lincoln  instantly  acceded. 

His  friend  then  said: 

"Lincoln,  I  would  not  do  just  what  you  have  indicated.  Your  stepmother  is 
getting  old,  and  will  probably  not  live  many  years.  I  would  settle  the  property 
upon  her  for  her  use  during  her  lifetime,  to  revert  to  you  upon  her  death." 

With  much  feeling  Mr.  Lincoln  replied: 

"  I  shall  do  no  such  thing.  It  is  a  poor  return  at  best  for  all  the  good 
woman's  devotion  and  fidelity  to  me,  and  there  is  not  going  to  be  any  half-way 
business  about  it."  A  nd  so  saying,  he  gathered  up  his  money  and  proceeded  forth 
with  to  carry  his  long-cherished  purpose  into  execution. 


ANECDOTES.  315 

LINCOLN'S  MOTHER— HOW   HE   LOVED  HER. 

"A  great  man,"  says  J.  Gr.  Holland,  "never  drew  his  infant  life  from  a  purer 
or  more  womanly  bosom  than  her  own;  and  Mr.  Lincoln  always  looked  back  to 
her  with  unspeakable  affection.  Long  after  her  sensitive  heart  and  weary  hands 
had  crumbled  into  dust,  and  had  climbed  to  life  again  in  forest  flowers,  he  said 
to  a  friend,  with  tears  in  his  eyes: 

ut All  that  I  am  or  hope  to  be  I  owe  to  my  angel  mother — blessings  on  her 
memory!" 

She  was  five  feet  five  inches  high,  a  slender,  pale,  sad  and  sensitive  woman,, 
with  much  in  her  nature  that  was  truly  heroic,  and  much  that  shrank  from  the 
rude  life  around  her. 

Her  death  occurred  in  1818,  scarcely  two  years  after  her  removal  from  Ken 
tucky  to  Indiana,  and  when  Abraham  was  in  his  tenth  year.  They  laid  her  to 
rest  under  the  trees  near  their  cabin  home,  and,  sitting  on  her  grave,  the  little 
boy  wept  over  his  irreparable  loss. 


LINCOLN   AT  DANVILLE,    ILLINOIS. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  often  at  Danville,  Illinois  (where  he  had  an  office  in 
partnership  with  Colonel  Ward  H.  Lamon),  attending  court  in  the  town,  or 
making  political  speeches  there.  Hon.  H.  W.  Beckwith,  in  a  series  of  papers 
communicated  to  the  Chicago  Tribune,  gives  these  interesting  personal  rem 
iniscences: 

On  the  way  he  said  he  wished  to  introduce  us  who  were  with  him  to 
Mrs.  and  Judge  Douglas.  They  had  Judge  Davis  and  Mr.  Lincoln's  term  time 
suite  of  parlor  rooms  at  the  old  McCormack  house.  Those  who  recall  the  fact 
will  remember  that  Mrs.  Douglas  was  the  daughter  of  Madison  Cutts,  a  tirne- 
out-of-mind  department*man  at  Washington,  where  she  grew  up  in  its  best 
society  from  a  child  to  a  most  lovely  and  charming  woman.  On  being  intro 
duced,  she  said,  in  a  gentle,  unaffected  way,  that  "Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  very  agree 
able  and  considerate  escort." 

With  many  instances  like  those  narrated  before  them,  and  taken,  too,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  how  amazed  were  his  more  familiar  friends  to  have  it  believed, 
when  he  came  into  national  view,  that  while  he  rated  well  enough  at  court  or  in 
the  society  of  men,  he  was  not  at  home  in  the  drawing-room.  The  notoriety 
given  him  as  the  teller  of  stories,  with  their  application  usually  left  out,  together 
with  the  ill-judged  zeal  of  the  politicians,  who  forced  ahead  his  flatboat  and 
rail-splitting  record,  with  the  homely  surroundings  of  his  earlier  days,  obscured 
for  the  time  the  other  facts  that  always  having  the  heart,  he  had  long  since 
acquired  the  manners  of  a  true  gentleman. 

So,  too,  did  he  suffer  from  eastern  censors,  who  did  not  take  those  surround 
ings  into  account,  and  would  allow  nothing  for  his  originality  of  character. 
One  of  these  critics  heard  at  Washington  that  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  speaking  at  differ- 


316  ANECDOTES. 

ent  times  of  some  move  or  thing,  said  "  it  had  petered  out;1'  that  some  other 
one's  plan  "wouldn't  gibe;11  and  being  asked  if  the  war  and  the  cause  of  the 
Union  were  not  a  great  care  to  him,  replied: 

"Yes,  it  is  a  heavy  hog  to  hold." 

The  first  two  phrases  are  so  familiar  here  in  the  West  that  they  need  no 
explanation.  Of  the  last  and  more  pioneer  one  it  may  be  said  that  it  had  a 
special  force,  and  was  peculiarly  Lincoln-like  in  the  way  above  applied. 

In  the  olden  time,  everyone  having  hogs,  assisted  by  neighbors,  did  their  own 
killing.  Stripped  of  its  hair,  one  held  the  carcass  nearly  perpendicular  in  the 
air,  head  down,  while  others  put  one  point  of  the  gambrel-bar  through  a  slit 
in  its  hock,  then  over  the  string-pole,  and  the  other  point  through  the  other 
hock,  and  so  swung  the  animal  clear  of  the  ground.  .  While  all  this  was  being 
done,  it  took  a  good  man  to  "hold  the  hog,"  greasy,  warmly  moist,  and  weighing 
some  two  hundred  pounds.  And  often  those  with  the  gambrel  prolonged  the 
strain,  being  provokingly  slow,  in  hopes  to  make  the  holder  drop  his  burden. 
This  latter  thought  is  again  expressed  where  Mr.  Lincoln,  writing  of  the  peace 
which  he  hoped  would  "come  soon,  to  stay;  and  so  come  as  to  be  worth  the  keep 
ing  in  all  future  time,1'  added  that  while  there  would  "be  some  black  men  who  can 
remember  that  with  silent  tongue  and  clenched  teeth  and  steady  eye,  and  well- 
poised  bayonet,  they  have  helped  mankind  on  to  this  great  consummation,"  he 
feared  there  would  "be  some  white  ones  unable  to  forget  that,  with  malignant 
heart  and  deceitful  tongue,  they  had  striven  to  hinder  it.11 

He  had  two  seemingly  opposite  elements  little  understood  by  strangers,  and 
which  those  in  more  intimate  relations  with  him  find  difficult  to  explain.  An 
open,  boyish  tongue  when  in  a  happy  mood,  and  with  this  a  reserve  of  power,  a 
force  of  thought  that  impressed  itself  without  words  on  observers  in  his  pres 
ence.  He  was  naturally  a  keen  observer  of  men  and  events.  And  always  a 
student,  he  grew  in  range  and  grasp  with  the  increased  demands  upon  him. 
With  the  cares  of  the  nation  on  his  mind,  he  became  more  meditative,  and  lost 
much  of  his  lively  ways  remembered  here  in  Illinois. 

A  biographer,  already  referred  to,  tells  the  following  incident: 

After  the  war  was  well  on,  a  patriot  woman  of  the  West  urged  Mr.  Lincoln 
to  make  hospitals  at  the  North  where  the  sick  from  the  Army  of  the  Mississippi 
could  revive  in  a  more  bracing  air.  Among  other  reasons,  she  said  if  he  "granted 
her  petition  he  would  be  glad  as  long  as  he  lived."  With  a  look  of  sadness 
impossible  to  describe,  he  said: 

"  I  shall  never  be  glad  any  more." 

A  chill,  raw  day  in  February,  1861,  found  his  friends  at  Danville  again, 
waiting  about  the  depot  for  the  train  that  was  to  bear  him  on  to  Washington. 
Rumors  of  the  rebellious  acts  of  the  slaveholding  states,  with  threats  of  the 
dire  war  to  come,  filled  the  air.  From  the  rear  platform  he  spoke  some  kind 
words,  the  last  he  ever  said  publicly  in  Illinois.  In  a  few  moments  he  was 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  state,  from  home  and  his  well-known  friends;  not  to 
return,  and  never  to  be  glad  any  more. 


ANECDOTES.  317 

LINCOLN  ON  THE   MONROE   DOCTRINE. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  at  this  time  (the  summer  of  1863)  Louis  Napoleon 
was  attempting  to  force  a  monarchy  upon  our  sister  republic  of  Mexico  by  the 
musket,  the  bayonet  and  the  cannon.  He  had  flitted  the  bauble  of  an  empire 
across  the  sea  before  the  easily  impressible  mind  of  the  Austrian  archduke, 
Maximilian,  and  his  ambitious  consort,  the  beautiful  Carlotta,  formerly  Duchess 
of  Brabant,  and  sister  of  the  king  of  the  Belgians.  They  caught  at  the  bait,  and 
Napoleon  sent  a  French  army  to  seat  them  upon  the  throne.  This  action  of  his 
and  that  of  Maximilian  was  exceedingly  offensive  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of 
our  armies  in  the  field.  It  occurred  to  me  to  learn  Lincoln's  views  on  the  subject. 
So  I  said  to  him : 

"  Mr.  President,  how  about  the  French  army  in  Mexico?" 

Shrugging  up  his  shoulders  and  wrinkling  his  eyebrows,  he  said: 

"Tin  not  exactly  'skeered,'  but  don't  like  the  looks  of  the  thing.  Napoleon 
lias  taken  advantage  of  our  weakness  in  our  time  of  trouble,  and  has  attempted 
to  found  a  monarchy  on  the  soil  of  Mexico  in  utter  disregard  of  the  Monroe 
doctrine.  My  policy  is,  attend  to  only  one  trouble  at  a  time.  If  we  get  well  out 
of  our  present  difficulties  and  restore  the  Union,  I  propose  to  notify  Louis 
Napoleon  that  it  is  about  time  to  take  his  army  out  of  Mexico.  When  that  army 
is  gone,  the  Mexicans  will  take  care  of  Maximilian.  I  can  best  illustrate  my 
position  touching  this  subject  by  relating  an  anecdote  told  by  Daniel  D. 
Dickinson,  senator  from  New  York,  in  a  speech  delivered  by  him  a  few  evenings 
since  in  New  York  City.  He  said  that  in  a  certain  Connecticut  town  there  had 
lived  two  men  as  neighbors  an;l  friends  for  more  than  sixty  years.  They  were 
pillars  in  the  village  church,  one  of  them  being  a  deacon  named  White.  The 
other  was  named  Jones.  After  this  long  lapse  of  time  a  serious  difficulty  unfor 
tunately  sprang  between  these  two  brethren  of  the  church. 

"The  feeling  waxed  so  warm  between  them  that  it  grew  into  a  bitter  feud. 
Mutual  friends  attempted  a  reconciliation,  but  the  men  would  not  be  reconciled. 
Finally,  Deacon  White  became  dangerously  ill,  and  drew  nigh  unto  death. 
Mutual  friends  again  interposed  their  kind  offices  to  effect  a  reconciliation. 
They  said  to  Brother  Jones  that  it  would  be  a  sin  to  permit  the  sick  brother  to  die 
with  the  quarrel  standing.  Jones  was  persuaded,  and  called  on  Deacon  White. 
The  two  men  talked  over  their  mutual  grievances,  and  agreeing  to  let  them  be 
"buried,  shook  hands  an  1  exchanged  mutual  forgiveness  in  the  presence  of  death. 
The  deacon  then  lay  back  upon  his  pillow,  awaiting  his  final  summons,  and 
Jones  arose  to  leave.  Bat  as  the  visitor  reached  the  door,  Deacon  White,  with  a 
great  effort,  raised  himself  on  his  elbow  and  called  out,  in  a  weak,  fainting  voice: 

ut  Brother  Jones— Brother  Jones!  I  want  it  distinctly  understood  that  if  I 
get  well  the  old  grudge  stands.1" 

Lincoln  laughed  at  the  conclusion  of  the  story,  saying  that  was  about  the  way 
he  felt  toward  the  French  emperor.  He  manifested  strong  feeling  on  this 
subject,  and  said  the  creation  of  an  empire,  especially  by  force,  at  our  very  doors 
was  exceedingly  offensive,  and  conld  not  be  overlooked  by  the  United  States.  It 


318  ANECDOTES. 

had  caused  him  great  annoyance,  as  he  was  not  in  a  condition  to  interfere  so  as  to* 
prevent  it.  He  expressed  himself  strongly  in  favor  of  the  position  taken  by 
President  Monroe  in  his  celebrated  message  to  Congress,  in  which  he  declared 
against  the  acquisition  of  any  territory  on  this  continent  by  any  foreign  power. 

Speaking  of  the  French  army  and  Maximilian's  being  in  Mexico,  led  Lincoln 
to  refer  to  Benito  Juarez,  then  president  of  Mexico,  for  whom  he  cherished  a  deep 
sympathy  and  strong  regard.  He  alluded  to  the  similarity,  in  some  respects, 
between  his  own  case  and  that  of  Juarez.  Both  were  presidents  of  republics;  both 
were  engaged  in  deadly  struggles  for  the  very  existence  of  their  respective 
nations,  and  both  were  beset  by  treason  at  home.  Juarez  was  compelled,  more 
over,  to  meet  a  foreign  invader  and  to  be  the  defender  of  the  very  principle  in  the 
maintenance  of  which  Lincoln  felt  so  deep  an  interest — the  inviolability  of  the 
American  continent  against  foreign  powers.  Both  came  from  the  vales  of 
humility,  and  both  became  great  leaders.  They  were  great  lawyers  and  they 
were  great  statesmen  and  great  patriots.  Juarez  had  the  nerve  and  the  courage 
to  cause  to  be  shot  to  death,  as  he  deserved,  the  scion  of  the  royal  house  of 
Austria,  and  every  throne  in  Europe  was  jarred,  since  the  plain  republican  pres 
ident  of  Mexico  was  a  greater  power  than  the  kings  and  emperors  who  sought  to 
save  the  fallen  emperor. 

Besides  successfully  defending  his  country  against  most  unprincipled  and  most 
unscrupulous  invaders,  Juarez,  in  putting  Maximilian  to  death,  was  the  vindicator 
of  the  Monroe  doctrine — he  was  the  exemplar  of  what  should  be  its  real  meaning, 
that  any  search  after  a  throne  or  monarchical  foothold  on  this  Western  Hemisphere 
is  undertaken  at  the  searcher's  peril.  It  is  full  time  the  nations  t)f  Europe  were 
made  to  understand  that  the  Monroe  declaration  is  not  a  string  of  mere  glittering 
words,  but  is  a  living  reality.  Lincoln  was  in  full  sympathy  with  this  view,  and 
I  am  fully  convinced  from  his  own  expressions  to  me  that  if  we  had  not  been 
engaged  in  a  gigantic  civil  war,  he  would  have  enforced  this  view,  and  neither 
Napoleon's  army  nor  Maximilian  would  have  ever  invaded  Mexico. 

My  interview  with  Mr.  Lincoln  lasted  over  an  hour,  and  it  was  one  of  the  most 
important  hours  of  my  life.  No  one  could  have  listened  to  the  conversation 
with  that  great  and  pure  man  without  having  the  conviction  forced  upon  the 
mind  that  he  was  a  sincere  believer  in  an  overruling  Providence  and  had  u  full 
faith,"  as  his  own  words  declared,  u  that  God  was  leading  this  nation  through  its 
firey  trial  to  a  triumphant  issue." — General  John  M.  Tliayer,  in  the  Neiv  York  Sun. 


CUTTING  BED  TAPE. 

"Upon  entering  the  president's  office  one  afternoon,"  says  a  Washington 
correspondent,  u  I  found  the  president  busy  counting  greenbacks. 

"'This,  sir,'  said  he,  lis  something  out  of  my  usual  line;  but  a  president  of 
the  United  States  has  a  multiplicity  of  duties  not  specified  in  the  Constitution  or 
acts  of  Congress.  This  is  one  of  them.  This  money  belongs  to  a  poor  negro 


ANECDOTES.  319 

who  is  a  porter  in  the  Treasury  Department,  at  present  very  bad  with  the  small 
pox.  He  is  now  in  the  hospital,  and  could  not  draw  his  pay  because  he  could  not 
sign  his  name. 

utl  have  been  at  considerable  trouble  to  overcome  the  difficulty  and  get  it  for 
him,  and  have  at  length  succeeded  in  cutting  red  tape,  as  you  newspaper  men 
say.  I  am  now  dividing  the  money  and  putting  by  a  portion,  labeled,  in  an 
envelop,  with  my  own  hands,  according  to  his  wish,1  and  he  proceeded  to  indorse 
the  package  very  carefully. 

"  No  one  witnessing  the  transaction  could  fail  to  appreciate  the  goodness  of 
heart  which  prompted  the  president  of  the  United  States  to  turn  aside  for  a  time 
from  his  weighty  cares  to  succor  one  of  the  humblest  of  his  fellow-creatures  in 
sickness  and  sorrow.11 


LINCOLN'S  SPEECH  TO   THE  UNION  LEAGUE. 

The  day  following  the  adjournment  at  Baltimore,  various  political  organiza 
tions  called  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  president.  First  came  the  convention 
committee,  embracing  one  from  each  state  represented — appointed  to  announce 
to  him,  formally,  his  nomination.  Next  came  the  Ohio  delegation,  with  Mentor's 
band,  of  Cincinnati.  Following  these  were  the  representatives  of  the  National 
Union  League,  to  whom  he  said,  in  concluding  his  brief  response: 

"  I  do  not  allow  myself  to  suppose  that  either  the  convention  or  the  league 
have  decided  to  conclude  that  I  am  either  the  greatest  or  the  best  man  in  America; 
but,  rather,  they  have  concluded  that  it  is  not  best  to  swap  horses  while 
crossing  the  river,  and  have  further  concluded  that  I  am  not  so  poor  a  horse  but 
that  they  might  make  a  botch  of  it  trying  to  swap!" 


LINCOLN'S  ESTIMATE   OF  THE   "HONORS." 

As  a  further  elucidation  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  estimate  of  presidential  honors,  a 
story  is  told  of  how  a  supplicant  for  office,  of  more  than  ordinary  pretensions, 
called  upon  him,  and  presuming  on  the  activity  he  had  shown  in  behalf  of  the 
Republican  ticket,  asserted,  as  a  reason  why  the  office  should  be  given  to  him, 
that  he  had  made  Mr.  Lincoln  president. 

"You  made  me  president,  did  you?"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  with  a  twinkle  of 
his  eye. 

"  I  think  I  did,"  said  the  applicant. 

"Then  a  pretty  mess  you've  got  me  into,  that's  all,"  replied  the  president, 
and  closed  the  discussion. 


INDEX. 


Ancestry  and  pioneer  days  in  Kentucky 5-11 

Grandfather  killed  by  Indians 12 

His  uncles  and  aunts..  ... 12 

Lincoln,  Thomas,  his  father 13 

Hanks,  Nancy,  his  mother 14 

Parents'  marriage,  and  their  first  homes 15 

His  birth 17 

Boyhood  in  Kentucky 18 

First  school  19 

First  church  he  attended 20 

Father  moves  to  another  farm 20 

Father  concludes  to  move  to  Indiana 21 

Trip  to  the  Indiana  home 23 

Picture  and  description  of  the  Indiana  home.  24 

Death  of  his  mother 2o 

His  mother's  grave 26 

Father  marries  a  second  time 27 

Ad  vent  of  stepmother  and  children 28 

Spencer  county  and  Gentry  ville,  Indiana 28 

School-days  in  Indiana 29 

Studying  by  the  firelight 30 

Books  he  read 31 

He  runs  a  ferry-boat 32 

Hires  out  as  man-ot-all-work 33 

Saves  the  life  of  a  drunken  man 34 

Country  school-house  debater 35 

Attends  a  murder  trial 35 

Kicked  senseless  by  his  "old  mare" 36 

Writes  an  essay  on  temperance 37 

Makes  a  flatboat  trip  to  New  Orleans 38 

Father  emigrates  to  Illinois 41 

Drives  an  ox-team  and  splits  rails.  41 

Death  of  his  father  and  mother 42 

Leaves  home  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 42 

First  home  in  Illinois 43 

Engaged  to  build  a  boat 44 

Acts  as  cook  for  the  carpenters 45 

Second  trip  to  New  Orleans 46 

Stands  in  slave  auction-room 47 

Pledges  himself  to  down  slavery 48 

Meets  a  champion  wrestler 49 

Becomes  a  resident  of  New  Salem 50 

The  site  of  New  Salern 51 

Is  selected  as  election  clerk  52 

Begins  the  study  of  grammar 53 

As  a  clerk  in  a  store 54 

Pummels  a  bully 54 

Challenged  to  a  wrestling-match 56 

Makes'  speeches  in  favor  of  river  navigation..  57 

The  attempt  to  navigate  the  river  a  failure...  58 

Enlisted  in  the  Black  Hawk  war   60 

Elected  as  captain 61 

Met  his  match  in  wrestling 61 

Experiences  as  a  soldier 62-65 

Mustered  out  of  service 66 

Announces  his  candidacy  for  the  Legislature.  67 

Buys  a  store 68 

Appointed  postmaster fig 

He  is  made  deputy  surveyor 69 

Walks  fourteen  miles  for  a  law-book 69 

Reputation  as  a  story-teller 70 

Falls  in  love  with  Ann  Rutledge 71 

Courts  Mary  Owens 72 

Elected  for  the  first  time  to  the  Legislature...  73 

Speaks  for  the  first  time  in  Springfield. 74 

Squelched  his  opponent 75 

Declares  himself  for  woman  suffrage 76 

Resolutions  of  protest  against  slavery 77 

Banqueted  in  Springfield 78 

Moves  to  Springfield 79 

Re-elected  to  the  Legislature 80 

Aroused  by  the  murderof  Lovejoy 81 

First  meets  Stephen  A.  Douglas  in  debate 82 

Extracts  from  this  first  debate 83 

Tribute  to  the  Revolutionary  ancestors 84,  85 

Associates  at  the  bar 87 

Again  re-elected  member  of  the  Legislature.  88 

Secures  the  freedom  of  a  negro  girl 88 


Meets  Van  Buren 89 

Delivers  an  address  on  temperance 90 

Candidate  for  Congress 91 

Unfortunate  love  affair 93,  94 

Goes  to  Kentucky  tor  a  vacation 95 

Applies  himself  to  the  law ,    97 

Challenged  to  a  duel 98 

Marriage  to  Mary  Todd 99 

Forms  partnership  with  William  Herndon...  101 

Goes  to  Congress 102 

Visits  Henry  Clay,  at  Lexington,  Kentucky..  103 

Opposed  to  the  Mexican  war 104 

He  introduces  the  '"Spot"  resolutions.. ..105,  106 

Speech  in  Congress  against  Cass 107 

Offered  the  governorship  of  Oregon 108 

Made  a  tour  East 109 

Returned  to  his  law  practice 110 

Aroused  by  Clay's  compromise Ill 

He  attacks  "  squatter  sovereignty  " 112 

Passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill 113,  114 

Meets  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  in  Cincinnati 115 

Saves  a  man  from  the  gallows 116,  117 

Birth  of  the  Republican  party 119 

As  leaders  of  the  free-fcoil  movement 120 

Dred  Scott  decision 121 

John  Brown's  raid  at  Harper's  Ferry 123 

Nominated  for  the  Uniied  States  Senate 125 

Lincoln-Douglas  debates..^ 127-129 

Speaks  at  Cincinnati IbO 

Speaks  in  Kansas  and  in  New  York  City 131 

His  wealth  at  this  time        132 

Favorite  of  Illinois  Republicans  for  president  133 

Nominated  for  president  at  Chicago 134 

Notified  of  nomination  by  official  committee  136 

Election  to  the  presidency 138 

Starts  from  Springfield,  III.,  to  Washington...  Ib9 

How  he  happened  to  wear  whiskers 141 

Night  trip  from  Harrisburg  to  Washington...  142 

Takes  his  seat  as  president 145 

Fort  Suinter  fired  upon  147 

Issues  call  for  75,000  troops 149 

Troops  mobbed  in  Baltimore 151 

Confederate  capital  moved  to  Richmond 152 

Slavery  abolished  in  the  District  of  Columbia  158 

Calls  for  400.000  men 160 

Issues  the  Emancipation  Proclamation 163- 

Battle  of  Gettysburg 168 

Gettysburg  address 169 

Re-elected  president 177 

Grant  made  lieutenant-general 181 

Fall   of   Richmond 185 

Visit  to  Richmond 185 

Surrender  of  Lee 18ft 

The  assassination  189 

House  in  which  he  died 191 

Death  of  the  assassin 192 

Lincoln  Monumental  Springfield,  Illinois...  194 
Thoughts  and  sayings  of  Abraham  Lincoln..  U>9 

Speech  on  the  value  of  education 201 

Speech  on  temperance 202 

Injustice  of  slavery ...  206 

"A  house  divided  against  itself" 209 

Regarding  a  protective  tariff 217 

His  autobiography 218 

All  honor  to  Jefferson 221 

To  General  Grant 223 

His  vow  before  God 227 

A  presentiment 229 

Description  of  the  Lincoln  Monument 231 

"  With  malice  toward  none  " 232 

Likes  a  compliment 235 

Last  public  address 236 

Sermon  on  the  death  of  Lincoln,  by  Beecher.  237 

Ode  on  Lincoln,  by  Lowell    238-240 

Oration  on  Lincoln,  by  McKinley 241-253 

Lincoln's  favorite  poem 254,  255 

Tributes  to  Lincoln,  by  Grant  and  others..257,  258 
Anecdotes,  stories,  etc 259 


320 


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